North East farmers urge those with poor mental health to get help
Farmers who have struggled with anxiety and depression are appealing to others not to be afraid to ask for help.Caitlin Riddell attempted to take her own life while working on a farm in Northumberland and now campaigns for more openness. "So many farmers are struggling, and I know it sounds like a cliche but it really is okay to say 'I'm not coping' because you are not alone," she said. The charity Farm Safety Foundation says its research suggests 95% of young farmers believe poor mental health is the biggest hidden problem facing the industry.
Mrs Riddell said her job on a dairy farm was initially something she "absolutely loved" but the early starts and long hours "finally caught up with me". "My husband worked really long hours on an arable farm and we were like ships that passed in the night, it was just so hard."I knew I was struggling but I didn't think people would understand, the feeling you've got to just keep going is overwhelming." Mrs Riddle has since organised events to raise money for the Farm Safety Foundation's Mind Your Head campaign."I was amazed how many people came up to me and admitted they'd had their struggles too," she said. "Help is out there, I didn't know where to go but that's why I'm now so passionate about saying there are people who will listen."
Ben Leyland, 30, who farms near Belford in Northumberland, said his mental health began to deteriorate when he was 18 and "stemmed from a few things", among them the death of his father from cancer."Long summers sitting in a tractor, not talking to anyone else, just being being in your own head, and it's not a good space to be. "When you experience it for the first time, you don't know what's going on, and you don't want to reach out because you just feel like a bit of a burden."Mr Leyland thinks there is a lingering perception that mental illness is a "weakness", but there is an even bigger barrier to farmers getting help."You don't have time, farming never stops, everyone's counting on you, your animals, your family, you just feel you have to keep going," he said.
Lizzie McLaughlin, 29, was born in Middlesbrough into a non-farming family, but became fascinated by the industry after getting a job working for a poultry company. She now lives on a farm and makes podcasts and educational films trying to "tell stories of what farming is really like". "I was diagnosed with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) in lockdown and over the past few months I've also been diagnosed with severe depression and I struggle with anxiety," she said. "I like to use my social media platforms to describe what that's really like, and I also share stories of farmers and how they're coping with challenges and struggles. "I find the more we share online the more farmers are opening up, it really is a topic that everyone keeps coming back to."
Manager of the charity Farm Safety Foundation Stephanie Berkeley said they started the Mind Your Head campaign in 2018 following Brexit, when there were "raised levels of anxiety"."We have run it every year since then and while we are seeing progress in tackling the taboo of mental health in farming, there are still huge challenges," she said."We have rising production costs, extreme weather events and now the tax changes in last October's budget."Thousands of farmers are really struggling, working long hours on their own and still putting food on our plates."The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs has been approached for comment. It previously said the reform to Agricultural and Business Property Relief was "fair and balanced, affecting around 500 estates a year"."It will mean farmers will pay a reduced inheritance tax rate of 20%, rather than the standard 40% for other businesses, and payments can be spread over 10 years, interest-free," a spokesperson said.
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