How to recognise stress and manage it

Stress can have a serious effect on your health, which is why it’s so important to address the problem sooner rather than later. Fortunately, there are well-established strategies for this, writes Roelof Bezuidenhout.

- Roelof Bezuidenhout

Many international studies show that stress plays a major role in farmers' health. While each type of farming presents its own stressors, and individuals have their own ways of coping (or trying to), it stands to reason that farmers who run family businesses or 'one-man operations' are most at risk of burnout or stress-related maladies.

Studies cite the following as some of the causes of 'agricultural stress': mounting paperwork and legislation, the political climate, workload and time pressures, disease and acute crises, seasonality and adverse weather conditions, mechanical failures, security, isolation, and negative press coverage. No real surprises there! In addition, the blurred boundaries between a farmer's home and working life make it difficult to escape from occupational problems.