Continuing from last week's words about the tragic and preventable loss of young men to suicide, it's important to understand that it's not just young men, but all men, who are at greater risk of dying from suicide.

Seven Australian men die from suicide every day. The age when a man is at greatest risk of suicide, per capita, is 85. Some men at this age may feel disconnected.

We all need to feel we have purpose and connection.

Connection is the single most influential factor on our mental and physical health.

I spend much of my clinical time working with men individually and in groups.

I work with men in their workplaces in cities and rural communities across NSW in order to understand how the negative stigma of mental health affects them, their mates, and their sons.

Of those men who die from suicide, most have never sought support.

It's a quaint joke that a man would rather drive around for an hour looking for the right street than ask for directions. But how does the reticence to seek help affect men, and what message does it send their children about masculinity?

We can't expect men to always have every answer.

Social researcher Brene Brown tells us that for men, any weakness is perceived as shameful.

The antidote is to create a culture where men can ask for directions, not know all the answers, and one in which being vulnerable enough to ask for help is rewarded with genuine support and kindness.