Loneliness might truly be the next epidemic. 

More than 50% of people who have responded to a new community survey say they have felt lonely in recent times.  

The responses came from residents of Coonabarabran and its surrounds, and the majority of those respondents were aged between 51 and 55. 

The Coonabarabran Social Connection survey is run by the Coonabarabran Suicide Prevention Network. 



"Many people feel that small towns are too cliquey," said Alison Reynolds from the Network. 

"A lot of people said they think there is a lot for older people in the towns and a lot of for kids, but not so many people ,in between" she said. 

Reynolds said sometimes people felt excluded from the community if there were seen as not contributing enough economically - and this made matters worse for people who were disabled or not mentally well enough to work.  

Although it's not just those in the Warrumbungles who are feeling alienated. 

An estimated 1 in 3 (33%) Australians reported an episode of loneliness between 2001 and 2009, with 40% of these people experiencing more than 1 episode, according to a study of loneliness using data from the longitudinal Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) 

Alison Reynolds. Image: Supplied. 

She said the loneliness in the town exists in the context of some recurrent mental health problems - with 20% of people saying they had felt so anxious recently that it had interfered with their activities, and 20% of them had cried in public. 

"It's very hard in a conservative community when the focus is always maintaining what you have and being able to pass it on to the next generation, and so there can be a reluctance to change - and I think this extends to mental health," Reynolds said. 

Over 50% of survey respondents said they had helped someone else with their emotional, mental health. 

"People are concerned about the lack of mental health and medical services in their communities," Reynolds said. 

"In some cases, people have also presented to mental health services and believe that their visit and their details visits have been shared inappropriately with their community," she explained. 

The Network is hoping that the survey will lead to more funding and more services across the community. 

Men Encouraged To Provide Feedback  

"We want a representation of all members of the community," Reynolds said, 

"Men are over-represented in suicide statistics but have so far been reluctant to fill out the survey." 

She noted that men, especially country men, are expected to be stoic and quiet and not complain when you don't tell people you are in pain. 

"It's literally a two-minute survey."