Who cares about rural stress?

摘要

The paper discusses measures being taken to deal with the problem of rural stress and suicide amongst the farming community in the UK. In 1992 a card scheme was set up in Herefordshire and similar schemes are now found throughout the UK. Cards withtelephone numbers of organizations offering emotional support and practical advice were distributed freely and widely within the rural community. A new charity has been established called the Rural Stress Information Network. Media coverage of farming stress has concentrated mostly on the high suicide rate. Suicide, however, is at one extreme of a continuum of stress anxiety, and more research is needed to discover the cause(s) of stress and suicide. A research project is being undertaken to investigatethe deaths of 50 farmers which have been recorded as suicide or undetermined cause. It is hoped that the research will identify common themes underlying a variety of very different experiences. Past surveys in the UK and other countries, together with anecdotal information, augmented by the understanding gained through counselling sessions have helped to identify factors which may lead to stress and suicide. These are listed as: financial pressures, legislation, social isolation, access, health, the family, tradition, loss of vocation, climate, machinery breakdown at critical periods, and access to means (e.g. shotguns).