Mental health awareness event in Myshall tomorrow for local farmers
Rev Lester Scott organised the workshop after meeting a number of local farmers with poor mental health
A MENTAL health epidemic within the rural community, stoked by taboos which inhibit farmers from discussing their private anxieties, has prompted a local clergyman to take action.
Rev Lester Scott has organised a mental health awareness night targeting farmers this Thursday, 21 November, in Myshall Community Hall at 8.30pm. The night is non-denominational and all are very welcome.
The awareness night will consist of workshop discussions aimed at addressing the mental health crisis within the agricultural community, alongside the prevailing stigma associated with it. A wide range of professionals with expertise in this area will be in attendance, including a local GP, a spokesperson from the Samaritans along with farmer and founder of advocacy group Awareness Head to Toe Graham George.
Rev Scott was motivated to host the workshop after meeting a number of local farmers with poor mental health who, through a combination of pride and societal stigma, have found it challenging to speak out about their ordeal.
“On my rounds, I find that there is an awful lot of anxiety out there in the farming community. It’s a very isolated occupation. Farmers are out working very long hours, they’re under a lot of pressure these days and they’re struggling,” said Rev Scott.
“It’s there in the general population, too, of course, but most of my parishioners would be farmers and there’s a private angst and turmoil that’s going on within farmers especially that’s not really being addressed or talked about in society,” he added.
The reverend recounts one such incident whereby he received a call from a local farmer who, due to pressures relating to the prospect of a tractor repossession, was on the verge of committing suicide. He had phoned the minister to ask him to explain his reasoning to his family, but thankfully the minister managed to convince him not to take his life and the farmer has since made a good recovery.
“We want to get people talking, to raise the subject to a level where it won’t be so much a taboo anymore to tell people that you’re not feeling well in your emotions,” said Rev Scott.
“As impossible as a problem might seem to oneself, when you talk to someone, it’s amazing how your perspective can change. I know it sounds trite, but there’s an awful lot of truth to the expression ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’.”
