Mental Health in the Rural Community: Why It's So Hard to Talk About
Mental health in the rural community isn't something that gets talked about easily. We're taught to keep going, in all weathers, through all seasons. If we fall off, we get back on. Resilience, determination, strength, pride in the rural way of life. All of it is ingrained in us from an early age.
Hard graft and resilience aren't bad things in themselves. But what happens when that's the only tool we've been given for facing modern challenges?
The Pressures Underneath the Resilience
Unpredictable weather affecting crops, subsidies and regulations that keep shifting, the cost of living squeezing tighter, while hay for the winter gets harder to find and more expensive. The long hours in the summer, competitions between mates about who’s had the longer day… 14, 15 or 18 hours.
Maybe you're a farrier or a groom, and your clients are cutting back, which means less work for you. Maybe it's the day to day strain of long hours and self employment. The worry about the future of the family farm. The lack of apprenticeships and employment opportunities for people wanting to work in agriculture or the equestrian world. We were taught to work hard and that it’ll pay off, but what happens when things outside our control mean that no amount of hard work will make it better?
It can feel pretty endless, and that's before anyone's even mentioned mental health. These pressures impact on our own wellbeing, our relationships, our confidence, and pretty much everything else.
The Practical Barriers to Getting Support
Living rurally brings its own barrier to accessing support, separate from the emotional one. You might be physically isolated, miles from the nearest town. Or your local town might simply not have any formal support services at all.
This isn't a small problem. According to Yellow Wellies, 95% of farmers under 40 rank mental health as one of the biggest hidden problems in the industry. A Riders Minds survey found that 80.5% of respondents had experienced poor mental health, but only 35.4% of those went on to seek support.
That gap between struggling and asking for help says a lot about how rural and equestrian communities have learned to cope, or not cope, with things. When this way of life is all that we’ve ever known but we’re struggling, it can lead to us to feel pretty stuck and unsure where to turn.
You Don't Need to Reach Breaking Point
There's often an unspoken rule that support is only for when things get really bad. That asking for help earlier somehow goes against everything you've been taught about getting on with it.
It doesn't have to work that way. Therapy offers a non-judgemental space to work through what's going on, with someone outside your day to day network. Someone who isn't your client, your neighbour, or your mate at the yard. Therapy is confidential, which is something we all know can be hard to come by in a small community.
Working With Someone Who Understands Rural and Equestrian Life
I work with clients from farming, equestrian and rural backgrounds, alongside a broader practice supporting anxiety and mental health. I understand the specific pressures of self employment, physical isolation, carrying on family and cultural traditions, and a culture that prizes getting on with it over talking about it. I also understand the good bits too, why so many of us value the rural way of life and all that it brings.
I offer sessions in person at my office in Yeovil, Somerset, and online with clients across the UK.
If any of this has struck a chord, get in touch through the form here to talk about what support could look like.
Support Resources
If you're not ready to think about therapy yet, that's okay. Below are some support resources worth knowing about. If you're in crisis, please reach out to emergency services or a crisis line straight away.
Yellow Wellies / The DPJ Foundation - mental health support for the farming community
Riders Minds - welfare and mental health resources for the equestrian industry
Samaritans - 116 123, free, 24/7
This is a sensitive topic, and if you're personally struggling with any of what's described here, please do reach out for support, whether that's through the resources above or a conversation with me. Remember, I’m not a crisis service so please call NHS 111 if you are in crisis.