Holly Greenman (Chippenham)

Many of you will have seen the sad results of a recent Farmer Weekly’s survey, that found that 95% of 450 farmers under 40 interviewed said that mental health was the biggest hidden problem facing the industry today, an increase from 82% in 2020 (and I’m sure I don’t need to remind you that 2020 was hardly a great year!)

Whilst this statistic is such a bleak reflection on the industry, it does show that nearly all of the farming population (of those interviewed) are at least aware of the mental health battles many of their peers are facing, and I think that is an enormously encouraging step.

Having been no stranger to ‘the big black dog’ myself throughout the years, I can relate to those who say that they still feel weakness and fear judgement by admitting to poor mental health, often leading to worsening feelings of shame and introversion.  The idea that “you should just get on with it” and “stay positive” to someone who is in the grips of a depressive spell is about as likely as Italy winning this year’s Six Nations i.e., utterly unachievable!

Though our awareness of this threat definitely has grown, I believe it is sometimes difficult to realise that what you’re experiencing is poor mental health; the term itself is so broad and so widely put about, what does it actually mean?  What does it feel like?  When should you worry?  Bad mental health is not only dark thoughts and suicidal plans and needs to be taken seriously far before that point is reached.

“Burnout”, a phrase originally coined by American psychologists, is actually a very real risk to UK farmers.  Feelings of fatigue, irritability, difficulty sleeping, inability to focus and a reluctance to socialise are all a mental health response to enduring protracted periods of stress.

Our primal ‘Fight or Flight’ sensors were great when we had to make quick decisions about threats; running away from lions for example, but they weren’t designed to see us through months of worrying about the milk price, the drowned crops, the reducing BPS cheque, the upcoming TB test, increasing interest rates…need I go on!  It is no wonder therefore that our brains respond by throwing us under the metaphorical bus, making us believe awful things and unable to rationalise as we would normally, making day to day functioning and decision making around tasks and management really challenging.

Understanding that often my dark moods and feelings were a chemical stress response and something outside of my control really helped me turn a corner with my mental health and shake that “you’re just being pathetic” internal narrative.  I speak only from personal experience, and by no means do I think this will apply to all, but when I feel a gloomy episode coming on, I try to take stock of what basic level well-being I have done for myself that day; in the exact same way you would if you had a sick calf or your crops were looking poor!  We are simple lifeforms really, and sometimes taking it back to basics really helps.  Have you slept well enough, and for long enough?  Have you drunk enough water?  Have your nutritional needs been met?  Have you had fresh air and daylight (not just hopping in and out of the tractor cab to open a gate, have you intentionally been outside?), have you had some movement and exercise?  Have you had social interactions beyond a WhatsApp message?  We would all be capable of analysing an animal’s performance in this way, but it’s hard when its ourselves!

Addressing our fundamental needs becomes difficult when we’re experiencing poor mental health spells, because we deprioritise our needs and physical health in favour of focusing on what our brain thinks is the immediate threat.  Again, this was fine when that was a mountain lion, but the threats just don’t go running away now!  They are constant and we have to learn to live with them.  Mental resilience is being able to demonstrate self-discipline enough to recognise these feelings within ourselves, realise its normal and OK to feel them, and do what we can to quieten them to make our day to day easier, so that we can help those around us do the same.

For a confidential chat contact Holly at hollygreenman@fcgagric.com or Tel: 07561 423073, or  see a comprehensive list of contacts and information here: https://ahdb.org.uk/support-for-farmers