The lifestyle of farmers is full of circumstances and issues that can contribute to poor mental health. They live in socially isolating situations, they live where they work and work where they live so there is little or no separation, they have unending lists of jobs and will never reach the end of a day having done them all, they face endless decisions that they have to make in isolation, work in markets with huge uncertainty, are impacted by political decisions beyond their control and, often work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If a farmer is struggling with these we may see warning signs like difficulty sleeping, difficulty with motivation, unexplained anger, increased incidence of workplace accidents, poor work prioritisation so not getting important things done, relationship and family break-downs and so much more.
Just to know all this isn’t enough. We need to know what we can do to help when we see it. We need to recognise that this could be a road to poor mental health and, potentially even more problems. We then need to understand that, however difficult it may seem, we need to have a conversation about it.
If you know a farmer who is struggling with any of these, or all of them, then you need to talk with them about help. It can be a difficult conversation for a proud group of people, but the consequences of not having that conversation could be very serious.
What help do we mean? Simply put, help from someone who understands. Tir Dewi is a farm support organisation providing free, confidential support without judgement! Our volunteers all understand farming and the issues faced by farmers and are there to support you. Talk to Tir Dewi now, today! Don’t wait until things get worse.
If you don’t want to talk to Tir Dewi, then talk to RABI or The DPJ Foundation or FCN or MIND….. just talk to someone! It will cost nothing, no one will get to know about it and it just might help.
Tir Dewi | 0800 121 4722 | mail@tirdewi.co.uk
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