But Beyond Blue director Derek Schoen says there is more willingness to deal with the mental health effects of a horrible 2020 where rural people have been hit by the fallout from drought, bushfires and coronavirus.

Mr Schoen, whose family has been farming at Corowa since the 1970s, spoke at a Rural Press Club of Victoria event on Friday.

"We are still on high alert. I've met with people in the community of the Upper Murray, who often experience panic attacks on a foggy day, remembering the thick smoke that blanketed the region for months," he said.

"Or the sun rising or setting in the afternoon or morning, bringing traumatic memories of those days where fire turned the sky blood red.

"As people in the bush do, they're getting on with the job of rebuilding their lives.

"Much of the debris that was left as a constant visual reminder of what was lost has now been cleared."

Mr Schoen said people are getting better at asking friends "are you OK?", but remnants of the "traditional blokey bush culture" still remained where asking for help was a sign of weakness.

"There has been a great improvement in people's ability to dismiss that stigma and actually start to reach out," he said.

He said it was just as important to rebuild people's mental health, as it was their properties, but acknowledged long waiting lists for psychologists in the country made it tougher.

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People in remote areas were six times less likely to seek mental health support than those in cities.

"Especially with the border closures currently, this can make it almost impossible," Mr Schoen said.

"We know that many people in the bush are doing it really tough this year.

"Communities already dealing with the psychological impact of drought were dealt the double blow of the devastating bushfire season.

"The fires that ripped through so much of this country, particularly in Victoria and NSW, didn't just scar the landscape, they also left an indelible mark on the psychological wellbeing of the entire communities."