A two-part virtual workshop hosted by Nebraska Extension’s Women in Agriculture program in September will focus on managing and working through anxiety.

“Breaking Down Anxiety: Tools to Help You Live a Less Anxious Life,” will hold its first session from 1 to 3 p.m. Central time on Thursday, Sept. 8. The second session is scheduled for 1 to 2 p.m. Central time on Thursday, Sept. 29.

It will be facilitated by Ashley Machado, a mental health consultant who works primarily with agricultural professionals and their families.

“Sometimes anxiety can feel all-consuming, like you’re on a train you don’t want to be on and you don’t know how to get off. Other times it can feel like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but you keep getting stuck on a hamster wheel,” Machado said. 

The workshop will discuss how anxiety shows up, why it can be a reaction to uncertainty, and offer advice for developing skills to manage anxiety and its effects.

Machado is an advocate of rethinking the ways that we support mental health in the agriculture industry and specializes in breaking down big ideas and deep feelings into simple, actionable strategies. She applies 15 years of experience to helping individuals and organizations in agriculture to develop the tools they need to maintain good mental health and operate and live fully.

Machado holds a bachelor’s degree in human development and a master’s in social work with an emphasis in clinical mental health. She grew up in the dairy industry and now lives in California with her husband, a rancher and almond farmer.

The workshop will be held via Zoom and participants should plan on attending both sessions. Registration is $20 per person and can be completed on the Nebraska Women in Agriculture website.

This material is based upon work supported by USDA-NIFA under Award Number 2020-70028-32728.