How a simple cup of tea can help your mental health

When times get tough, it can be easy to hide away behind the farm gate. But Katie O’Brien is working to connect with isolated farmers.

Opening someone’s front gate and sharing a cuppa is a common occurrence if you live on a farm.

After all, so much socialising is done around the kitchen table, sharing stories and life updates.

But for someone struggling with mental health in the face of flood, fire, and drought, that cup of tea could also be life saving.

It’s the inspiration behind Katie O’Brien blog and mental health resource – Check your Mates, Open the Gates – a space where she has used her personal experiences to support and connect with a network of farmers and regional people facing adversity.

Based at Pangee in central western NSW, Katie runs a Santa Gertrudis stud and commercial operation.

But horses were her first love, and she took an opportunity to train as a farrier in the United States when she finished high school.

“I moved to the US in 1997, to Southern California. Then I had a bad accident, I had a horse go over backwards on me,” Katie said.

“I had a stroke, I came home in a wheelchair.”

She said her experience rehabilitating post-accident brought on “a big bout of depression”, a space she was determined to fight her way out of, and also taught her the importance of speaking about and acknowledging periods of tough mental anguish and anxiety.

“Particularly farmers, we’re really good at deflecting issues off ourselves, and we want to take control of the situation,” Katie said.

Open the Gate Check your Mate founder Katie O'Brien. Picture: Supplied.

She said in 2019 off the back of drought conditions, Katie noticed her husband becoming more withdrawn and spending time isolated on the farm.

“If this is happening to my family, then this is bigger than what I think, and it’s happening to everyone,” Katie said.

“We see a gate shut, and we think we’ll just catch up with that person next time. But even if it’s five minutes, go and check in on your mate. Or if you see them in the tractor you flag them down and ask how they’re doing. It’s not much to help connect.

“We rely on so many variables. And trying to corral them is not something we’ll ever be able to do. My passion is knowing that my peers know I’m a voice for them.”

Since founding the online group, more than 1000 people have joined, many of who reach out to Katie at times of both triumph and tragedy.

“One message I received said at the lowest points, she felt there was always a new post that lifted her up,” Katie said. 


“I care deeply about every one of them. That’s what a community is, it’s caring about your peers and checking in on one another.”

The Shine Awards is a joint partnership between The Weekly Times and Harvey Norman that is a true celebration of women right across rural and regional Australia.

Use the form here to nominate a rural or regional woman who is making a real difference to her community or industry, and shine a light on their incredible achievements.

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Nominations close on October 23.