Mental health in agriculture is the elephant in the room. No one really wants to talk about loneliness, anxiety or suicide. But it’s there, and many are increasingly worried that it’s getting worse… We are not alone. A survey in August from the Office for National Statistics found that almost one in five adults were
Whilst UK farmers are renowned for the attention they give to their livestock, crops and machinery, it appears they do not have such a good track record when it comes to taking care of themselves and their own wellbeing. There are a number of mental health risk factors associated with agriculture. Farmers work long hours, often in isolation. They
For the last 8 years, this month’s guest blogger Naomi Wright and her husband David have run a dairy farm near Kendal in Cumbria. Naomi doesn’t come from a farming background however she has a unique insight and understanding of the difficulties the farming industry faces. Having recently qualified as a psychotherapist, Naomi’s passion and
Nuffield Farming Scholar and psychotherapist, Aarun Naik, and University of Liverpool researcher, Laura Phalp, have teamed up in search of hard data on farmer mental health. In today’s blog post they call on the farming community for help with this important research. Aarun says: “The issue of farmer mental health and wellbeing has long been
While Young Farmers’ Clubs are often described as a social lifeline, what happens when your problems run much deeper than not winning at the County Rally? YFC Trainer Alice Giles from Bow YFC, Devon explains how NFYFC is raising awareness of mental health and where to get support… Living and working in a rural community
The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I) is farming’s oldest and largest charity, a key supporter of Mind Your Head, last year around 13% of R.A.B.I’s new referrals cited ‘mental health issues’ as a contributing factor to their problems. Although the charity does not offer professional counselling services, it can provide important financial assistance to people
We are learning this Mind Your Head week that equipping people with the skills to build resilience and take control of their lives can really help to improve mental health and wellbeing. In today’s guest blog, the Scottish Association for Mental Health’s (SAMH’s) introduce their new project Let’s TALK which is designed to do just
When we launched Mind Your Head last year, we found it a real challenge to find farmers who were willing to share their very personal experience of dealing with mental health issues. Over the past 12 months we have been encouraged by so many people who strongly believe that talking about mental wellbeing in farming
Many of you familiar with our campaign will also be familiar with the inspirational Emma Picton-Jones who very generously shared her touching story of dealing with mental health in farming last year. After a whirlwind year that saw her accept a Pride of Britain Award for the work she has been doing (above pictured with
This Mind Your Head week we are raising awareness of mental health issues in the agricultural industry so it makes sense that, in an industry where 28% of all workers are female, that this issue should affect women in farming too. We know that mental health is often not given the care or attention it