Mark Thomas, FCN’s Helpline Coordinator and Support Officer, explains how loneliness can come in many shapes and forms, and how we can help ourselves, and our friends and family, to feel less isolated.
Loneliness Awareness Week 2026 runs from 15th – 21st June.
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Photo Credit: Photo by Red Zeppelin
It is said that farming can be a lonely and isolating profession. As is often the case, the reality behind this generalisation is more complicated than it may seem.
Yes – calls to the FCN helpline would evidence that loneliness is indeed a problem for our industry. You can feel isolated on a remote hill farm in Cumbria and be equally alone if your working day is spent cocooned in a tractor cab on a large arable estate in Hampshire. It might be a temporary ‘phase’ of life, or it may be a trait that we live with throughout our life.
We can be lonely in a big family; be gripped by our over-thinking at 3am; feel isolated and excluded if we don’t fit the ‘norm’; suffer alone with depression and anxiety because we’re in farming and supposed to be ‘resilient’; we may lack the confidence to attend a meeting or social event that could brighten our day.
Of course, some of us value solitude, which can sometimes be mistaken for loneliness. Solitude is a state of contentment; a choice, a positive mindset. Loneliness can be painful and destructive.
Being honest with ourselves about how we feel about being alone allows us to take steps to improve things if we wish to. We can take positive action to reduce our own feelings of loneliness and help others to feel more included. Farming is wonderful community to be part of and can be welcoming and inclusive if we give it a chance.
In this Loneliness Awareness Week here are a few suggestions to reduce the impact of isolation in agriculture:
1. Be the catalyst
Organise a get-together with friends you haven’t seen for a while. Re-connection can enhance your own social life, but it could be a really important intervention if someone you know is feeling alone. It’s easy to fall into a routine and be too busy to socialise, particularly as we grow older and sometimes, we just need that ‘nudge’. Phone a few mates, set up the Group Chat and make a difference. Someone I know formed the Third Thursday Club – a group of young Dad’s who meet on the third Thursday of each month. It has become an important ritual and something they try not to miss.
2. Choose ‘yes’
When invited out we may choose to politely decline and of course that’s fine if our preference is to spend time alone. But if we’ve become used to our own company it can affect our confidence and when presented with a social opportunity, we automatically start inventing excuses. If we want to make a change, sometimes we have to apply the brakes to that auto-response and just say ‘yes please’. What’s the worst that could happen? We can always leave if we’re not having fun, but it may just be the intervention that lifts us up and sets a new course.
3. Manage over-thinking
Spending time alone can make us prone to over-thinking. Our brains go into over-drive without the restraints and balance that talking it through can provide. It can become a ‘doom-scrolling’ of the mind, spiralling us into anxiety and affect our mood for the day. It can rob us of sleep, distract us and make it harder to socialise and connect with others. If this resonates, you are not alone and there are techniques to help manage unwanted thoughts. Visit the NHS Every Mind Matters web site for more information and see point 5 below.
4. Find a new passion
A friend of mine recently made the decision to relinquish their shotgun licence. Shooting had been a big part of their social life and connection with others. They recognised that this loss was affecting them and read about a taster event for archery in their local area. This has now become a new passion – they have turned a negative into a positive, learnt a new skill and met new friends.
Immersing ourselves in a hobby or interest can have a positive impact on our mental wellbeing too. Fly fishing does it for me. Being by the river, spending an hour un-tangling line from a Hawthorn bush and (very) occasionally tempting a trout can disconnect us from the pressures of everyday life for a short, but important time. It’s not always easy to find the time, but the investment pays dividends.
5. Pick up the phone
To a friend, a neighbour, a family member…… making that call can change someone’s day and may be what they need to lift themselves out of a lonely patch and renew their positive spirit.
And we always like to hear from members of our community here at FCN. You don’t have to be experiencing a problem to ring – we have regular callers who just want a chat, and we are very happy to oblige. We hear from farmers, contractors, students, thatchers and many others. We are not just here to help at times of crisis; our volunteers are farming people and like nothing more than hearing from others in the industry from different parts of the country and having a good old ‘chin wag’. Don’t worry about blocking the phone lines, we have more than one person on duty during the day.
You can call FCN on 03000 111 999 from 7am to 11pm every day. We would love to hear from you.
We can all make a difference this Loneliness Awareness Week – what will you do ?
Mark Thomas
Joint Helpline Coordinator – FCN