Brooke Littlewood was at her lowest point when she was told she would have to wait two months to see a psychologist in her regional town.

Key points: Brooke Littlewood created a series of coasters to offer mental health awareness where services may be limited

Brooke Littlewood created a series of coasters to offer mental health awareness where services may be limited Her inspiration came from her own two-month wait to see a psychologist in her country town

Her inspiration came from her own two-month wait to see a psychologist in her country town The coasters are providing a way for people to connect with mental health services

Anxiety, depression, and a 10-year battle with an eating disorder were just some of the things playing on her mind and body.

"I was pretty desperate at that point and I needed someone to speak to," Ms Littlewood said.

After five "fine" years, Ms Littlewood, who was living in Millicent, in South Australia's south east at the time, relapsed into bulimia in 2018.

"I didn't move, I was trapped and felt as if life wasn't worth living," Ms Littlewood said.

After intensive rehab stints at Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide over the years, she looked for ongoing support closer to town.

The two-month wait for a psychologist convinced Ms Littlewood to do something "different" to get others in regional areas talking sooner.

"I really think more needs to be done when it comes to available mental health services and resources in rural communities," she said.

Her idea? Coasters in pubs printed with bold messages encouraging people to spare a thought for their own mental health or someone else's.

Hopefully the coasters will trigger a conversation at the pub. ( ABC South East: Bec Whetham )

Ms Littlewood and a friend came up with the slogans: 'Are you bottling it up?' (aimed at individuals) and 'Is your mate missing?' (a reminder to consider friends).

She said people may be out with their mates and realise someone in their network had not been socialising with them as much.

"[They may] have become a bit isolated, maybe they don't even realise that they're struggling with mental health issues," Ms Littlewood said.

With some support from a local suicide prevention network, Ms Littlewood printed and distributed 2,000 coasters to local pubs in her town earlier this month.

She said the response from the community had been "overwhelming".

"All the pubs jumped onboard, they were happy to support it [and] the feedback's been great," Ms Littlewood said.

Alex Gordon is coming up to 10 years as manager of Millicent's Somerset Hotel.

He said the coasters were a perfect way to get the message across to people less likely to ask for help.

"It makes people think about things that otherwise aren't being said," he said.

"People can sit in their own time and just absorb the information as they want to."

Somerset Hotel manager Alex Gordon said the first order of coasters went home with patrons after one week. ( ABC South East: Bec Whetham )

Ms Littlewood said offering information about telephone services such as Lifeline could be more effective than suggesting someone see a mental health professional.

"A lot of the time people are too ashamed to speak out and they think it's something to be embarrassed about or maybe they don't feel comfortable confiding in people," she said.

"With [the coasters], they've got the numbers on there so people know there are other services they can reach out to.

"It might not be face-to-face because some people may feel more comfortable speaking on the phone."

Ms Lilttlewood hopes the coasters will get picked up around the country. ( ABC South East: Bec Whetham )

Spreading the message across Australia

Ms Littlewood hopes the local success of the project will enable it to spread further around the country.

"It comes down to funding," she said.

"We have the designs, we just need the funding to get it out to the wider community [and] I'm trying to think of ways that I can do that."

Her dream is to see the coasters in pubs and sporting clubs all over Australia.

"We hope people realise there's nothing to be ashamed of," she said.

"There are people out there who are going through similar things and there are people they can talk to."

Ms Littlewood said she wanted regional towns to move past the "get over it" mentality when it comes to mental health.

"A lot of the time this mindset comes down to having very little understanding of the issues due to a lack of awareness," she said.

"If these coasters can save even one person's life then that is amazing and they have done their job."