RICHMOND—Some losses are sudden and straightforward, like a farm fire or the death of a loved one. The resulting grief is shared among the community, followed by a sense of closure.
“Or, losses can stretch out in small steps, like slowly losing financial solvency over time,” said Emily Krekelberg, farm safety and health educator with University of Minnesota Extension. “That is an ambiguous loss.”
A recent National AgrAbility Project webinar explored the theory of ambiguous loss in agriculture, unresolved grief, and strategies for building resilience.
Grief is a process expected to eventually end, Krekelberg explained.
“But depending on the type of loss, grief can be disrupted or carry on for a long time,” she said.
Three types of grief are associated with ambiguous loss—anticipatory, disenfranchised and frozen.
Anticipatory grief occurs when loss seems imminent.
For example, if a local poultry house was depopulated due to highly pathogenic avian influenza, a neighboring poultry grower may believe it’s only a matter of time before the HPAI spreads, and they face the same situation.
“You may start to experience that loss and feel that grief before the positive test even happens,” Krekelberg said. “It’s still valid grief, even if a clear loss didn’t actually occur.”
Disenfranchised grief is one that is not understood or taken seriously, leading to social isolation. And frozen grief results from the ambiguity of not knowing if an effort will be successful—feeling “stuck,” with a looming sense of dread.
“It can go on for years while efforts are made to salvage aspects of the business, the livestock or land,” Krekelberg said. “The uncertainty for the farm’s future doesn’t allow for a family member to grieve it and move on, because they are trying to save it. The grief never runs its course.”
Long-term grief can compromise mental health among farmers already facing enhanced mental burdens. However, building resilience is the antidote for ambiguous loss and unresolved grief.
Resilience-building strategies include:
- Reconstructing or redefining your identity to fit new dynamics
- Normalizing ambivalence to understand conflicting feelings
- Finding meaning in an identified loss
- Adjusting mastery by accepting what can and cannot be controlled
- Revising attachment by coming to terms with new and changing relationships
- Discovering hope and finding comfort with ambiguity while moving forward
“Take just one step, and don’t worry about trying to get it all figured out,” said Matt Nuckols, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation safety coordinator. “Talking directly about grief can help us build resilience. It’s important not to suffer in silence.”
See VFBF’s list of farmer mental health resources.
Media: Contact Krekelberg at 612-756-3977 or Nuckols at 804-938-2043.