A lot of work, often financial worries and criticism from society – many farmers are under pressure. The result: overwhelm and depression. There are offers of help, but they do not reach all those affected.
After animal welfare scandals like last week in Rimsting in Upper Bavaria, where 33 cattle died on a farm, the search for causes begins. Because, as is so often the case, the bad conditions seem to be due to excessive demands and family problems.
“Human tragedy always comes before animal suffering,” confirms Heidi Perzl. She works for the agricultural social insurance, SVLFG for short, as a consultant in the tele center for mentally stressed people. Farmers who don’t know what to do can turn to that. There is also a crisis hotline that is staffed 24 hours a day. There are 30 to 40 callers per week.
Very afraid to seek help
In Perzl’s experience, however, many of those affected are still ashamed to seek help. In men, the inhibition threshold is even greater than in women. In general, many people from agriculture are afraid that their problems will become known in the village.
And so they got into a situation in which they no longer recognized the extent of their problems and the animal suffering on the farm. It is not yet clear whether this was also the case in Rimsting. But the counselor has already intervened. The prosecutor is investigating.
Depression – a big problem among farmers
Farmers are among the occupational groups most affected by depression. How big the problem is, however, is difficult to express in numbers. The news portal “agrarheute” conducted a survey among more than 1,300 farmers in 2018. Result: Every fourth farmer is at risk of burnout.
And the Salzburg psychology student Maria Roth came to the conclusion in her master’s thesis 2022 that in Germany 4.5 times as many farmers are affected by burnout as members of the general population. Mental illness is now the second leading cause of disability pensions among farmers.
One way out: accept help, operation restructure
Christoph Rothhaupt from the Rhön has also slipped into a depression. He found help at the Rural Family Counseling Service. He had a dairy farm with 70 cows: milking every day, feeding them, getting up at night because the milking robot sounds the alarm, no holidays, never any time for yourself. In 2018 he had a breakdown.
In the meantime the cows have gone and the barn is empty – a difficult decision, as he sees it BR told. But the right one for Rothhaupt. He got help from the rural family counseling service and went into therapy. He is only a farmer as a part-time job, he grows organic vegetables – and is happy to now have time for his family.
Criticism from society “gives many the rest”
After such crises, there is often a complete abandonment of the farm. According to consultant Perzl from the SVLFG, many farmers have personal problems as well as criticism in social media and in society: they don’t feel valued, on the contrary: they are seen as animal abusers and environmental destroyers – “that’s the end for many,” he said perzl.
Josef Steingraber, Managing Director of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association (BBV) in Rosenheim, confirms that the pressure on farmers is very high. He sees parallels in the most recent animal welfare scandal in Rimsting to other similar cases in which animal owners were no longer able to run their farm for personal reasons. In general, many farmers are in distress, which leads to exceptional situations.
Versatile offers of help
The offers of help for farmers have increased in recent years. And stakeholders such as the churches, the farmers’ association and the SVLFG want to network more closely. This was also a topic at a symposium in Berlin on “Mental health in the green sector – who cares?”.
Steingraber from the BBV in Rosenheim refers, among other things, to the “monday phone” of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association and the farmer’s help service, which also offers financial help and can arrange farm helpers. The helpers could in turn report to the farmers’ association if they get the impression that conditions on a farm are similar to those in Rimsting – and immediate intervention may be necessary is.
Help for those affected
If depression is suspected and as the first point of contact for those affected, the nationwide telephone counseling and the German Depression Aid Foundation Support via email, chat and phone.
Telephone numbers of the telephone counseling service: 0800/111 0 111 and 0800/111 0 222
In acute crises, emergencies and if you are having suicidal thoughts, a psychiatric clinic or the emergency doctor should be contacted immediately by calling 112. Here you can search for psychiatric clinics in the area.
In addition, a discussion with a doctor or a psychotherapist should always be sought. General practitioners and online platforms can help with the search and placement.