KEEPING AN EYE ON OUR MENTAL HEALTH

Have the tough conversations

Member Georgia Helme delves into the trials and tribulations of looking after your mental health while farming

My great, great, greatgrandfather was a dairy farmer with a diff erence; he milked his herd in the middle of London on Euston Station. He had been uprooted from Wales, his surrounding family, and his Welsh speaking community as the British Army wanted to convert the land into a fi ring range, and so he was pushed to start a new business in what was a foreign country to him.

He set up a town dairy on Hampstead Road, which was a success by all accounts. However, the dark clouds of depression enveloped him after repeated outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease swept through his herd. He lost his livestock, livelihood, and he took his own life. I can only imagine the turmoil that he went through without a support network of neighbours and a modern-day welfare system. Incredibly, his stoical wife brought up their four young children and took on the business.

Mental health struggles aren’t a new phenomenon for farmers, but for generations those dark clouds that are prone to creep in at our most vulnerable moments have been talked about in hushed tones, or not spoken of at all.

This tragedy had been shrouded in secrecy for 130 years. Today, farmers are going through tumultuous change and are looking towards having to make radical adjustments themselves. We now have brilliant professional support systems and safety nets in place that our forefathers didn’t have and that my ancestor was so lacking. Yet, a recent survey by RABI found that more than a third of farmers could be struggling with depression. Fear in discussing mental wellbeing is an added pressure that doesn’t have to exist in our modern society.

In more recent times, my family have also experienced some trials and tribulations. Back in the 1990s, my parents decided to diversify. I myself have branched out into an urban industry, recently graduating with a media and journalism degree and now working in current aff airs, but I’m always drawn back to my rural roots.

While analysing the portrayal of rural aff airs and rural areas in factual television for my dissertation project, I found that our idyllic countryside is often rose-tinted by the media and people don’t take rural issues as seriously as they should. Here, I look at some of the the evolving stresses and strains in rural communities that others may struggle to understand.

Climate change Oh God, the weather. If we need rain, the clouds shut up shop. A frost to kill off disease? It’s the mildest new year on record. A bit of sunshine? We get relentless downpours.

Global warming doesn’t mean that we can top up the t-shirt tan, but that our

“As soon as many farmers step outside their front door, they’re walking into their workplace, meaning it’s often difficult to switch off from the pressure of work”

weather patterns are becoming more extreme and intense. Climate change is affecting farmers across the globe, including us. I was incredibly fortunate to be part of the BBC’s COP26 coverage in November. It was a huge focus, but additionally a lot of the British public were only made aware just how much farmers are at the mercy of the elements last year.

The floods and droughts on Clarkson’s Farm highlighted just how much of working life is out of farmers’ control, making things even more challenging.

Money struggles Farmers are also facing a huge wave of change in the economic climate: the rollout of a new farm support scheme in England, reductions in Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments, looming trade deal agreements and all the forecasts this year, with postBrexit labour shortages, TB, bird flu and huge input prices already taking effect.

As soon as many farmers step outside their front door, they’re walking into their workplace, meaning it’s often difficult to switch off from the pressure of work. The work isn’t 9-5 and little sleep can make problems worse. Caring for your head and looking after your mental wellbeing is hugely important as a farmer, especially as financial hardship and poverty are so often viewed as an urban problem, so monetary issues in rural areas are easily disregarded.

Isolation Lockdowns and Covid-19 have given the general public an idea of what isolation really feels like, but farmers have been living and working ‘remotely’ long before it become the norm. Physical distance between people was only exacerbated during the pandemic with the closure of social hubs like pubs, livestock markets and the suspension of Young Farmers’ meetings.

This had a huge impact on the way that we could share the ups and downs of daily life, and everything seemed to move online all at once. However, issues with digital technology and internet connectivity due to the digital divide have also meant that those in the most rural areas are struggling to access mental health support and resources.

This is why it’s so important that we look out for one another, keep a weather eye, and ask the simple question: “Are you alright?”. If you’re not satisfied with the response, ask again. An ex-young farmer who works for my local mental health charity held a talk with Herefordshire YFC to offer advice on wellbeing and break some of the stigma around this topic. He brought the importance of this second question to our attention when he opened up to say that it saved his life 15 years ago.

So really, the only difference between my great, great, great-grandfather and this speaker was just the attitude around them at the time. While reaching out for help and being vulnerable might seem like the hardest step, speaking up for others and speaking out is vital in our communities.

Maybe if my relative had been able speak to someone, or phone a family member or a friend, the outcome might have been different for him. If you don’t do anything else today, pick up the phone to one of your old friends or neighbours and ask them how they are or tell them how you’re feeling. A kind word, a quick chat and a bit of concern goes a long way.

CHARITIES AND HELPLINES

• The Farming Community

Network 0845 367 9990 • Royal Agricultural Benevolent

Institution 0300 303 7373 • Gatepost for RSABI 0300 111 4166 • Mind Infoline 0300 123 3393 • YANA (You Are Not Alone) 0300 323 0400 • Samaritans 0845 790 9090 • Survivors of Bereavement by

Suicide 0300 111 5065

If you have concerns about somebody you know, you should always consider it to be a medical emergency and contact emergency services on 999.