How are you, really?
In order to raise funds for mental health charity 20Talk, I'm going to take on the challenge of sitting in a 2 metre square box for 20 hours with no technology and no talking. This challenge will be a small look into the day of someone struggling with mental health. All I will have is my own thoughts, a journal and a chair to sit on.
When I moved to Australia, I was a little taken aback by the kindness of strangers and how often people asked about my wellbeing - even if we didn’t know each other.
It took me a while to realise that “How are you?” was often just another way of saying “Hi.” So now I stick to the accepted responses: “Good, and you?” or “Not too bad.”
But it made me think - when was the last time any of us really stopped to consider the answer?
We have all been touched in some way or another by the reality of mental health. It can be dark, lonely, and confronting.
And the numbers speak for themselves:
Suicide still remains the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-44.
Only 2% of mental health funding goes towards prevention (Mental Health Commission 2022).
298 Australians aged between 18 and 24 years died by suicide in 2023.
42.9% of Australians aged 16–85 years had experienced a mental disorder at some time in their life in 2020-2022.
12,000 calls about suicide were received by Kids Helpline in 2023, documenting 3,893 crisis interventions, nearly half involving suicide risks.
In 2023, young people aged 15-19 rated their happiness at just 6.2 out of 10, the lowest score in a decade.
I’m completing the 20 Hours for 20Talk to help change these statistics.
20Talk is a mental health charity making education cool, relatable, and accessible - by young people, for young people.
Your support goes directly towards:
Funding two-day Mental Health First Aid courses for young people ($300 per person).
Expanding 20Talk’s online resources and 60,000+ social media community.
Running large-scale interactive mental health events.
By improving mental health literacy, removing harmful stigma, and encouraging professional help-seeking we are preventing people from getting people into crisis in the first place.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you can, please consider donating and sharing this challenge. Hopefully, this small act can help make a big difference.
With love,
Alia
