Content warning: This article contains reference to suicide.
Mark Burns was in a rut, and he didn't know why.
He had a "lovely wife", two little boys, and his beloved rugby club community.
But after a long day, he would unwind with a glass of wine most nights and watch TV until the early morning, scraping five hours of sleep before "doing it all again".
"I was just burning the candle at both ends," he told SBS News.
"I was not hurting anyone. Except me."
At the suggestion of his wife, Beck, he went for a walk. And that single journey has since evolved into a national movement for men seeking a lifestyle change and social connection, a group known as The Man Walk.
The Man Walk estimated that 136,656 men across 83 locations have come together to walk and chat in the seven years since its conception.
"The stories from the blokes there are just amazing. It'll be like 'Mark, I haven't had another bloke to speak to for 30 years' or that the 'Man Walk saved my life and I've lost 20 kilos from exercising', it's pretty amazing," Burns said.
He said the group started with just a few men in Kiama on the NSW south coast, and grew "by accident", becoming increasingly popular.
While he has enjoyed the health and social benefits of regular walks with friends, he continues to go for a private reason.
"My personal motivation in life is to make, as I say to myself, make my mum and dad proud, who I lost many years ago, dad in a car accident and mum with cancer. That's a sort of personal driver for me," Burns said.
A 'loneliness crisis'
New research suggests social programs for men dealing with loneliness and mental health issues have multiple benefits
A study by Mentoring Men, involving 2,000 Australian men, found one in two males aged between 35 and 50 reported stress or anxiety affected their everyday life.
Around 31 per cent of men said their mental load is affecting their job performance.
While one in three regional or rural men felt isolated due to their remoteness.
At least 47 per cent of respondents reported they were grappling with general stress or anxiety, according to the Men Do Talk 2025 survey. Source: SBS News
CEO Filipe Gama e Silva told SBS News countless research pieces have painted a stark picture of men's mental health.
"We're in a loneliness crisis across Australia," he said
"And lonely men are twice as likely to die by suicide. And so that's lives lost, that's families ruined. The impact is huge."
Most of the men who have accessed mentoring through the group want to discuss relationship challenges, whether they are romantic or familial.
General anxiety around the future is also a common concern, particularly for men in their mid-30s, according to Gama e Silva.
"It's a big transitional phase in one's life. Life becomes really real. You've got your kids, your marriage, your mortgage, whatever else it might be. There are a lot of things that you're processing through," he said.
Despite the availability of support services and groups, many are unaware of them or simply don't ask for help.
One in four men struggling with mental health search online, and one in three lean on their mates for support, according to the Men Do Talk 2025 survey. Source: SBS News
Gama e Silva highlighted the important role of friends and loved ones in supporting people through loneliness and isolation.
He said many of their referrals didn't come from men in distress themselves, but rather a friend or a loved one.
Research from Charles Sturt University estimates men are 50 per cent more likely to experience "persistent isolation" compared with women.
'Significant' costs to public health
Associate Professor Michelle Lim, from the University of Sydney's School of Public Health, said loneliness costs the Australian economy billions.
She told SBS News $2.7 billion is spent annually due to "health underutilisation".
"This $2.7 billion is very much a conservative amount, which we pay every year already because people are lonely," Lim, who is also the scientific chair and CEO of Ending Loneliness Together, a not-for-profit focused on addressing chronic loneliness, said.
"They might be staying unwell for longer periods of time, having increased visits to the GP or staying at hospitals for longer."
Global research on loneliness doesn't show a noticeable difference between men and women, according to Lim, but approaches to tackling it should still take into account gender and social differences.
She said social isolation could also be seen as an equity issue.
"It disproportionately affects people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds or living in more deprived neighbourhoods with fewer or poorer access to resources in their community. So, this is something that is an issue with people who are financially strained," Lim said.
One in five Australians aged over 15 has delayed or avoided mental health care due to cost, according to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
Readers seeking crisis support can ring Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14, the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467 and Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (for young people aged up to 25). More information and support with mental health is available at beyondblue.org.au and on 1300 22 4636.
Embrace Multicultural Mental Health supports people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
