The Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney joined together with Kathleen Lynch Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health and the IFA to launch Let’s Talk: Dealing with Stress, a helpful resource for farmers on dealing with the particular pressures of farm life and seeking help and support.
The Let’s Talk leaflet was produced by the Irish Farmers’ Association as part of a series of joint initiatives with See Change, aimed at supporting farmers’ mental health and tackling the stigma associated with mental health problems.
The leaflet focuses on stress as an important issue for good mental health and well-being but also for farm safety. It contains invaluable information for farmers and their families on the causes and signs of stress as well as expert and practical advice and contact information of further sources of information and support.
Speaking at the launch, Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for Mental Health Kathleen Lynch said, “I welcome this important initiative which is aimed at supporting farmers who, because of the isolation of their working life and heavy workload, can suffer from a high incidence of stress and I would like to congratulate everyone involved in producing this resource.”
Minister Simon Coveney added, “I am delighted to be associated with the launch of this excellent resource on farm stress and our attitudes to mental stress. While we appreciate the normal stress that is part of our daily life, there are many issues today which threaten its balance. There is no doubt that we are now dealing with more pressures like issues relating to finance, family or even the harsh weather conditions that plagued us within the last 12 months. Sometimes the worries or concerns become too hard to manage and that is where resources like this one being launched today are essential.”
Research commissioned by See Change on Public Attitudes Towards Mental Health Problems identified that the stigma surrounding mental health problems acts as a significant issue for Irish farmers, preventing many from seeking the help that they need. The 2010 study found that a significant 57 per cent of Irish farmers surveyed would not want others to know if they had a mental health problem; 42 per cent of farmers would hide a diagnosis of a mental health problem from friends and 27 per cent would delay seeking help for fear of someone knowing about it.
