So many of the “idea’s and dreams about homesteading says that we will have better health for it.. Working our bodies, working with our hands, growing our own food, harvesting 0 mile eggs/milk/meat. Hunting and Fishing, hiking and horseback riding..
It all leads to amazing health! Right..
Right?
I mean, google homesteading and you are going to find site after site selling you the idea, Gardening, the way to live to a 100 years old. Grow your own medical plants? Got the flu.. Elderberries are the key!
I am starting to lose track of the amount of “do this and you will get X or Y or Z”.. I get it, it’s the net, it’s a way to bring in the eyes.. I have read the “top ten ways to write this or that” to bring in the viewers and so a lot of the time, I work my way past the “click bait” and get to the meat of the posts and let tell you there are some truly amazing homesteaders out there that know what they are doing, they know what they are talking about and the walk the walk!
There are also some newer folks that are just amazing writers, amazing at their studies. they have knowledge to share.. some of its is outstanding, and some of is what I call book regurg.
It’s a running joke for those that come to my speaking events because I always talk about this.. someone wrote it in a book and its been read and it gets shared like the its the truth.. never mind that dozens of us or hundreds of us can’t make it happen in real life..
It still gets spit up in other books, on blogs and websites.. its one of those.. but I read it.. and Mr. KNOWIT said it.. it’s a direct quote and we all know he can’t be wrong.. he has books, video’s and travels all over speaking..
(careful there.. find out if they make more money talking about how to do it, then they do doing it.. its a very telling thing)
So with all the good stuff that gets talk about.. what does the stats show? Is shows that most of us that are homesteading, those of us that live in rural areas and those that live on the land point in fact have worst health rates overall then those that live in cities.
Some of it’s just common sense, we wear out our bodies faster than most city folks tend to, we worked longer hours, we work in all kinds of weather. (please note that I know there are city folks that work just as hard! I said.. on average) We work with large powerful animals and if we ride.. then we also hit the ground at times..
We tend to get broken and we do not have an easy time letting things heal.. I have watched this over and over.. a friend in town or city gets something damaged or broken and they take the time off work, they do have time at work and then they do their physio and hire private trainers to get them back up on their feet.
Farmers, homesteaders.. we are like.. How can I find a work around, because it does not stop.. the water still needs to be there.. the hay still needs to go out, the poop still needs to be cleaned and the harvest taken, we work by the weather and the critter/farm and gardens don’t give a rat behind if you are feeling well, sick with the flu or are broken.
We all start back sooner than we should and we will pay for it in our later years when those older bones start to show their war wounds more and more.
This one to me is a mixed bag.. Per the stats we do not look after our health in the same way, we put off getting that tooth fixed, we know we should go see our doctor but we stick it out, we are more prone to “try home fix it” rather than go access help..
IF you can access help.. which the stats show is harder and harder to come by in regards to us being able to get health care when you live rural.
See this one I have a little more issue with.. because I think a lot of folks that choose this lifestyle also choose to opt out of many main stream things including Vaccines and certain kinds of main stream medical.. more likely to do a home birth then a hospital one. More likely to consider and or use other forms of medical.
I would love if people focused on their health in regards to having living soil that feeds the plants that produces food that has better value that feeds your body so that it can work at its best! A gal can dream right 🙂
So even if we agree that the stats are off because of that factor.. how off are they? I think that in many cases it’s about time, distance and money. All three of those do mean that it’s harder to get proper care.
Its something that hubby and I are looking at, as we age, we need to start taking better care of.. So lets use a few cases
We needed to get new glasses.. I phone to book us in.. just over 3 months to see our doctor.. THREE Months to get in to be seen..
We needed dental care.. some is covered and other things are not.. boy did we get an eye popping surprise when we figured out that something that hubby needs is not covered and would at a min start at 3 grand to get done..
We both are starting physio and I have been talking to my health care provider for a couple of years about my knees and I get the run around.. Hubby had his back give him an issue due to a heavy lift the wrong way..
We had to take the bull by the horns.. because it’s a choice.. do we go back and fight to get it written up and get part coverage or do we tighten up our belt a touch and pay it out-of-pocket.. we are paying out-of-pocket.
We are also driving to get to these places.. the closest is 20 minutes away one way and the longer is more like 40 or so.. for someone without wheels, or someone who had their gas budget done to within the penny.. these trips would be very hard indeed to make happen.
Its one of the things that is touched on but far to often shoved to the side.. when you hear someone say they only make the trip to town once a month.. you have to give it the eye.. works great if you are healthy.. but boy can it add up in a brutal way if and WHEN extra care is needed.
I hope that as a homesteader, as a farmer, as a person who lives rural that you remember that only you are in charge of your health and that if you are not careful, you can slip though the cracks and become just one more stat being talked about by the government and how much difference there is health wise between city/rural.
I am only going to very lightly touch on this one.. but our mental health needs looking after as well.. the suicide rates of farmers increases year after year.. we live by the land and the weather can make and break the year in many cases.. as farmers where told.. go big or go home.. they put more and more eggs in one basket and when that basket tips.. bad.. very bad things happen.
Often on the smaller farms/homesteads, lots of new folks think these pressures seen for the larger farms will not come into play.. but honestly they do.. and as the weather extreme’s start to hit home.. these pressures will get harder and deeper..
Make 2019 a year where you find the way to make sure you put your own health up there on par with your garden, your family and your critters.. you are important too!
Please do check out the other homesteaders posts in the challenge.. you can find a link on the side of the main website that will take you to a full page of everyone’s listings..
Just another Day on the Farm 