Sunday, March 24, 2019. Lake Pertobe from 8am

When Chris Rantall and Adam Kent walk around Lake Pertobe on Sunday, they'll be carrying more than the 20kg packs seen on their backs.

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The pair will stride the playground space with memories of war and the mental scars that come with it.

What they want their community to know is that they are ready to share that burden.

"The burden of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) is not just something veterans and emergency service workers experience," Mr Kent said.

"It's something families experience and communities carry."

The RSL Warrnambool contemporary veterans are hosting 'Walking off the War Within' on Sunday.

The 20-kilometre walk will be held in memory of returned soldier and firefighter Nathan Shanahan who took his own life in December 2015 after battling PTSD.

As a father and fellow army veteran, Mr Rantall said it was now vital the community had regular conversations about mental health, depression and suicide.

"We need the community to be aware of mental illness and recognise it's like any other illness," he said.

"Walking off the War Within is one way to encourage that conversation."

Familiar with PTSD and the battles associated with post-war integration, Mr Rantall said participants at Sunday's event would wear backpacks weighing either 5kg, 10kg or 20kg.

"This represents the weight or burden of mental health issues," he said.

"They're a seen weight whereas mental health is an unseen weight."

"PTSD is like looking through a frosted window," the 52 year-old said.

"You know something's there but your brain's not working properly.

"Your thoughts are not in order, your mind's not right, you can't focus and your emotions are all over the place.

"Your families see you suffering too but can't do anything about it."

Sunday's event, which is open to emergency service personnel, defence force personnel and members of the public, is being held in Warrnambool for the first time.

"It's been held in Ballarat since 2017," Mr Kent said.

"We know that we've got veterans here who get out of the military and isolate themselves.

"We know they have so much to give and we want to give them a place they can go and see they are not alone.

"We'll be hoping to take part in more of these types of events."

Mr Kent spent six months in Baghdad in 2003.

He said military service could lead to personal battles often hidden from the community.

"You're used to a really high level of stress and it's normal and it's a hard thing to come back and integrate into civilian life," he said.

"You do a few courses and you watch a few videos and you learn about it which helps but it's really not a normal realm to exist in.

"I describe it like a thermometer.

"Zero to 10 where 10 is you're absolutely having a meltdown.

"The average person hovers around four, gets up to six, and has stress reactions and manages it, whereas when you're in service overseas you're operating at eight and you learn to live with it and manage it and make it your normal.

"Then you come back and your small reactions to simple situations are definitely not normal and people recognise this.

"You've got to learn to data-dump what you've learnt and get your creativity and personality back."

Walking off the War Within will take place at Lake Pertobe from 8am to 2pm.

Participants need to register online prior to the event.

The event will include a free barbecue with members of the public encouraged to stay for food and conversation afterward.

Statistics:

A 2010 Australian Defence Force Mental Health Prevalence and Wellbeing Study estimated that 90 per cent of ADF members have experienced at least one potentially traumatic event at some time in their life, compared to 73 per cent of an age-and-employment-matched sample of the Australian community.

The Beyond Blue website: People with PTSD often experience feelings of panic or extreme fear, similar to the fear they felt during the traumatic event. The person often relives the event through unwanted and recurring memories, often in the form of vivid images and nightmares.