A neighbourhood health watch could be a valuable tool for Coastal and South Taranaki farmers dealing with drought. Some farmers in Coastal and South Taranaki could be under a good deal of stress because of the drought, said Like Minds manager Gordon Hudson, of New Plymouth.
Help might not be readily available for people in rural communities, so neighbourhood health watches for farmers to look out for each other were worthwhile. A Taranaki District Health Board study in 2008 had shown farmers were one of the four groups of people most vulnerable to suicide, and middle-aged farmers with experience of mental illness were most at risk. If farmers were not coping with the stress they were under, he recommended they talk to someone they trusted and consult their general practitioner. "Some men don't like to admit they may be feeling fragile or vulnerable - but keeping these issues close to their chest could prove to be a fatal mistake."
Mr Hudson said seeking professional help for mental or physical health was a strength, not a weakness. Taranaki Rural Support Trust chairman Peter Adamski also asked farmers to keep an eye on their neighbours, and to contact the trust or Federated Farmers if they thought anyone needed assistance. "Sometimes farmers don't want to be seen asking for help," he said. He hoped farmers under financial pressure would seek help rather than try to cope alone. He said the trust's facilitators were trained to recognise symptoms of stress.
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