Virtual event to look at importance of farmers' mental health

Emma Picton-Jones will host the upcoming virtual event on the importance of farmers looking after their mental health
Emma Picton-Jones will host the upcoming virtual event on the importance of farmers looking after their mental health

The founder of the DPJ Foundation is set to present a live webinar on the importance of talking about mental health and farming.

The virtual event will look at the importance of farmers looking after their mental health, supporting others and where to find help.

Emma Picton-Jones, founder of the DPJ Foundation, will present the webinar on Thursday 25 June.

She will speak of her own journey establishing the charity following the loss of her husband Dan in 2016.

Practical advice will be offered to anyone working in the agricultural industry as well as those with family and friends who do.

“Dan’s worry and stress, and what I now know was depression, didn’t really seem bad enough at the time to make me think it was a mental health problem," Ms Picton-Jones said.

"Mainly because I knew absolutely nothing about mental health – people weren’t talking about it openly and anyone who did in my small community in Pembrokeshire was labelled ‘nuts’ or ‘crazy’.

"I thought naively that it was something that would never impact me or my family."

She added: “The fact of the matter is that even people with everything – with children, wives, husbands – or even those without can still feel low, that the only option to end the suffering is to die."

It was 'clear' that this was a 'huge issue' for the farming industry, that her and Dan 'grew up in and loved', Ms Picton-Jones said.

"With one farmer in the UK taking his or her own life every week it was obvious that I wasn’t the only one who all of a sudden was a widow to suicide.

"Just no one else was talking about it.”

The DPJ Foundation offers mental health training, fully-funded counselling and a 24/7 helpline. It has so far helped over 200 farmers across Wales.