One of the worst aspects of depression is the way in which it isolates people. It is not just that sufferers feel that they are the only one who feels like this, and that no-one else would understand; it also leaves them unable to respond to positive or supportive messages, believing that those who attempt to counter their low self-image, to see that of good in them, are deluded, not seeing how unworthy they are in reality. In a 2006 survey the Samaritans reported that only eleven per cent of those suffering from stress go to their doctor for help, only twenty-two per cent talk to friends or family, and, most shocking of all, thirty-two per cent feel there is no-one they could turn to for help. If this is the reality for so many people where is the scope for ‘creating connections’?

I work for the Institute of Rural Health (IRH), which has for the past three years been running a project on rural stress and wellbeing. This is focused on the ten most rural counties of Wales but much of the information is relevant across the UK. (IRH is a third sector, UK-wide, academic body which carries out research into rural health needs and provision, offers training to rural health professionals, and makes the case to policy-makers for the particular needs of rural health provision.)

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