Teagasc will hold a free webinar entitled ‘Maintaining your mental health in farming’ on Tuesday, October 10, from 10:00a.m to 11:00a.m, to mark World Mental Health Day.
The purpose of the mental health webinar is to give the participants a chance to think about how they manage their mental and physical health, while also providing tips for dealing with and minding their mental health.
Development officer of Mental Health Ireland, Finola Colgan will chair the webinar event.
Colgan stated ahead of the event: “Virtually everyone faces a mental health challenge at some point in their lives, so it is vital that we have the resources to deal with such a challenge.”
According to a study from University College Dublin (UCD), almost 25% of Irish farmers are at risk of suicide.
Weather, prices, climate change, and financial concerns, are among the factors that may impact mental health, according to Teagasc.
Mental health webinar
Farmer and mental health advocate, George Graham, will outline his journey with mental health and approaches to maintaining mental health and safety particularly tailored for farmers on the webinar.
Lecturer in the School of Psychology at University of Galway, Dr. Denis O’Hora, will then discuss the psychological challenges to mental health and safety to farmers, who are mainly autonomous workers with high job demands.
Teagasc health and safety specialists, Dr. John McNamara and Francis Bligh, will outline advisory supports available to aid farmers to maintain positive mental health through farm management.
Post-doctoral fellow at Teagasc, Dr. Diana van Doorn, will explore the links between occupational stress, well-being and cardiovascular health, measured as part of the Farmers Have Hearts – Cardiovascular Health Programme.
At the end of the webinar there will be a questions and answers session chaired by Colgan which will happen after the speakers.
Those interested can register for the webinar on Teagasc’s website.