Why people on our most remote isles are happiest

remote, untamed and often plagued by midges, Scotland’s smallest islands can be unforgiving places.

But some of the country’s most isolated island communities are also some of the happiest.

Not a single person has been registered as suffering depression on Coll, the Small Isles, Colonsay or Stronsay in the past ten years, according to NHS figures.

meanwhile, back on the mainland, Scots are increasingly being prescribed antidepressants to beat the blues.

At one GP practice in the Selkirkshire town of Galashiels, one patient in five has been diagnosed with depression since 2006.

Nationally, Scotland has the highest rate of depression in the UK, at 6.2 per cent compared with 6 per cent in Northern Ireland, 5.8 per cent in england and 5.7 per cent in Wales.

However, north of the Border, six surgeries have not seen a single diagnosis for ten years.

they include the GP practices serving the Small Isles of eigg, rum, Canna and muck, the Hebridean communities on Colonsay and Coll plus the orkney islands of Stronsay and eday, which have a combined population of nearly 1,000.

the only two mainland surgeries to have a clean bill of mental health are Durness in Sutherland and Ballater in Aberdeenshire.

At the other end of the scale, 19.4 per cent of patients at the Glenfield medical Practice in Galashiels have a history of depression, followed by 18.3 per cent at the Govan Health Centre in Glasgow and 16.8 per cent at the Duffy surgery in Glasgow’s Drumchapel area.

the figures were compiled for the NHS Scotland’s Quality and outcomes Framework, which records rates of illness including depression at Scotland’s 981 GP surgeries since 2006.

Adrian miller, a 42-year-old farmer and community council member on Stronsay, claims island life is incompatible with depression.

He said: ‘the daily challenges you face keep you focused. You don’t succeed in places like this without having a positive outlook on life.

‘Around 60 per cent of those who live here have moved to Stronsay, but I’ve seen some leave because they can’t cope with the weather and the time it takes to reach the mainland. If you’re still here after the fifth winter, you’ll stay. It shows you have the mental resilience for this way of life.’

Health psychologist Dr Cynthia mcVey, of Glasgow Caledonian University, who monitored contestants on the Hebridean island of taransay for the BBC show Castaway 2000, said: ‘Quite often, people choose that lifestyle.

‘the midges can be a trial plus the weather along with a lack of amenities, but many who move to the islands are appreciative of the wildness and the freedom from technology.

‘It can breed community spirit instead of social competition and when they look out of the window they see beautiful scenery rather than dismal concrete. Island life is very hard and you have to be physically fit, which itself is known to be a buffer against depression.’

Scots are becoming more reliant on medication to beat the blues.

Last year, more than 814,000 patients were prescribed antidepressants – up 28 per cent in only five years.

the tablets are not only used for managing depression but are also used to control other conditions including phobias, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder.

A spokesman for NHS Highland said: ‘the relationship between rurality and mental illness is very complex. Data from GP consultations will capture only those who seek medical assistance.

‘there is still stigma surrounding mental health issues and in small communities it is possible that individuals may be more reluctant to attend their GP.’

‘Daily challenges keep you focused’