Lifeline counsellors have already reported receiving calls from Fluffy owners and Canberra chief executive Carrie-Ann Leeson fears it would get worse.

"We're dealing with the pointy end on the phones, we're dealing with, 'I don't know where to turn, I've got nowhere to go'," she said.

Lifeline is so concerned by the potential effects of the Fluffy crisis that it is preparing to offer a series of courses next month and in September for those living or working in Fluffy homes, colleagues, friends and family of people affected; even teachers and neighbours.

"We certainly are hearing through our crisis support service on the phones [about] anxiety and isolation, people feeling angry and frustrated and helpless, and that's triggering a range of mental health issues and certainly thoughts of suicide," Ms Leeson said.

"Whilst we're there on that end of the spectrum delivering that crisis support, there's a very real need for us to be on the preventive end as well."

Emotions ranged through anxiety, depression, isolation, anger, frustration, helplessness and thoughts of suicide, with Fluffy sometimes "the straw that breaks the camel's back".

Although Fluffy owners have been coming to terms with their asbestos-contaminated homes for more than a year, Ms Leeson expected mental-health problems would worsen as the crisis widened to former owners, tenants, visitors and tradespeople.

The release of the Fluffy addresses this week showed the full extent of the demolition. In some streets the visual impact alone would be exponentially worse than the bushfires, and there is also anxiety about the safety during demolitions, Ms Leeson said.

Even at Lifeline, a husband of one of the staff had discovered only this week that he had lived in a Fluffy house for six months.

Another had a close friend who had only discovered this week that they had lived in a Fluffy house for 10 years, including during major renovations.

"I'm sure the conversations are the same in every workplace at the moment because it has expanded from 1000 affected families to exponentially more," Ms Leeson said. "And just having the skills to say, 'Shucks, how does that make you feel? Are you OK, is your friend OK?'"

Lifeline is urging Canberrans to learn more about identifying when they or someone they know is in trouble.

The two-day "applied suicide intervention skills training" courses would take up to 80 people, teaching them how to identify a change in a family member or friend, start a discussion with them, de-escalate distress situations and find the help they needed. It would give people the confidence to talk to others about what were taboo subjects.

"It really does apply to anyone who themselves might be anxious or who might be assisting others who might be anxious, around stress, anxiety or, worst case, suicide," Ms Leeson said.

The ACT Asbestos Response Taskforce can be contacted at:

132 281

asbestostaskforce@act.gov.au

facebook.com/ACTAsbestosResponseTaskforce

People who are anxious or concerned can access support through their GP, ACT Medicare Local on 6287 8066, Lifeline 13 1 114, and Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.