Australian men are being urged to reach out for help after research revealed a high number are facing mental challenges impacting their relationships, productivity and quality of life.
The combined impact of the issues is costing Australia an estimated $3.76 billion in lost productivity each year.
Mentoring Men, a free service that connects men with trained, local male mentors, surveyed 2000 men aged 35 to 50 in NSW, Victoria and the ACT.
Nearly half of those surveyed said they had experienced general stress and anxiety related to relationships, parenthood or addictive behaviours.
Around 40 per cent said they struggled with emotional regulation, while 36 per cent faced difficulties in maintaining relationships.
While the vast majority said some form of support would be beneficial, 42 per cent admitted to "pushing through" on their own without knowing where to turn for help.
More than 65 per cent said they would be open to accessing a mentor, yet more than 40 per cent were unsure where to find one.
Volunteer mentor James Pearson, who has previously experienced depression and suicidal ideation, said many men who had found Mentoring Men did not know where else to turn.
"I personally didn't feel like I could share my experience of depression with my closest friends," he told AAP.
"The mentoring program works well because mentors are judgment-free and the men can open up and speak honestly.
"As a mentor you're not there to tell them what to do but just to share your own life experience and perspective that they may not have heard before."
Mentoring Men is working to reach men needing help and to recruit mentors, but is calling for government support and recognition to scale its services nationwide.
Healthy men were one half of the equation leading to healthy families, workplaces, communities, society and the wider economy, Mentoring Men CEO Filipe Gama e Silva said.
"We're constantly told that men don't talk or reach out for support, but men do want to talk and often don't know where to turn to," he said.
"Creating that judgment-free space for men to talk about what's going on is really powerful."
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