Focus turns to mental health in times of stress
A recognition that farming suicides have historically peaked during period of high stress in the industry - such as the BSE crisis and the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001 - has led to a major focus on mental health within the sector.
And with Brexit representing one of the biggest and possibly most stressful events ever to face the agricultural industry, the Farm Safety Foundation has launched a campaign to encourage those in the industry to open up about issues and to be on the look out for those who might be struggling to cope.
“Learning from past experiences we need to be prepared to support our farmers through this time and this is what we are great at, as an industry,” said Stephanie Berkeley who heads up the Farm Safety Foundation
“Farmers work long hours, often in isolation. They can be under significant financial pressure, often required to take on significant debt just to purchase the land and equipment required to operate. And in most cases, a farmer’s place of business is also his or her home, meaning there is no easy way to get away from the workload,” said Berkeley
She said that farmers were also constantly vulnerable to unusual events
and circumstances which could impact both the bottom line of their businesses and their stress levels – from weather and natural disasters to major uncertainties such as Brexit
With recent research revealing that 81 per cent of farmers under 40 believed that mental health was the biggest hidden problem facing farmers today she said that promoting good mental health was crucial if lives were to be saved and farmers kept safe.
She said her foundation was working with others in the industry to raise awareness of this mounting issue and to build a community of support focused on raising awareness of mental health issues in the industry and tackling the stigma around talking about mental health:
“Simply pretending the issue does not exist or has no impact on the industry
is not acceptable,” said Berkeley.
Rural Affairs Specialist with NFU Mutual, a major sponsor of the charity, Tim Price said that modern farming was a lonely way of life:
“Financial pressures mean that most farmers work alone and have few opportunities to meet up with fellow farmers to relieve pressures with a moan about the weather or the latest outpourings from politicians.”
Stressing the importance of talking to someone he said that this had become more difficult when family members often worked offfarm and traditional social meeting points for farmers like auction markets and farm meetings were now few and far between.
Information can be found at yellowwellies.org.