The Bega MP and Transport Minister is urging everyone, but particularly men, to put aside the she'll-be-right stoicism and seek help if the fire emergency has affected them in some way. And he doesn't just mean if we were directly impacted by flames.

There is no doubt the entire country is traumatised by what it saw during the fire season - we won't call it the Black Summer because the emergency started in July and its aftermath will be felt for years to come. You didn't have to be on the frontline to be affected. Images of terrified people huddling on beaches, of skies turning blood red, of people queueing for food or being trapped in their cars on blocked highways are seared onto our memory.

It's not a stretch to say the events of the past few months have amounted to the biggest collective trauma this country has seen since World War II.

Andrew Constance was caught right in the middle of it, first defending his own home then huddled with hundreds of other fearful people on the beach as the fire front tore into Malua Bay. He says it was one of the loneliest days of his life.

He fears an epidemic of depression will follow in the fire's footsteps, especially for those caught in the bureaucratic maze of rebuilding lost homes and saving businesses from financial ruin.

And he is direct about stoicism: "We have to cut through that bullshit," he says.

He says talking through the trauma has helped. And rather than be advised to take a rest, he's been told to throw himself into the task of helping his community rebuild.

That process is what clinical pyschologist Ruth Nelson calls post traumatic construction, a much better outcome than post traumatic stress. She says the first step to mental recovery is to accept it is natural to feel horrible after such a life changing experience and then to seek help. Getting that message out to men is important.

Lifeline has launched a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week dedicated bushfire recovery support line: 13 HELP or 13 43 57. Beyond Blue: 1300 22 4636