Alicia Gardner

Alicia is taking on the 20-hour challenge to support youth mental health and raise awareness about the importance of prevention.

My Why

My Why!

Twenty hours.

No talking.

No phone.

No distractions.

Just me, a journal, a chair, and whatever rises to the surface when the noise finally stops.

Most people avoid silence, not because it’s boring, but because it’s confronting.

And that’s exactly why I’m doing this.

My why is simple:

Because mental health has become something we survive instead of something we understand.

Because so many people are drowning in thoughts they’ve never had the space, safety, or stillness to process.

Because I’ve lived through chapters where silence would’ve either broken me or rebuilt me, and I want to show what happens when we choose the rebuild.

Twenty hours in a 2-metre square area forces you to sit with truth.

Your truth.

Your patterns.

Your emotions.

Your inner world.

And that’s where most of the healing actually starts.

I’m doing this for every person who has felt overwhelmed, unheard, overstimulated, or disconnected from themselves.

For the people who feel guilty resting.

For the ones who hold it together for everyone else.

For the ones who don’t know how to slow down until their body forces them to.

My why is to bring awareness to the conversations we’re not having.

To mental health as a lived experience, not a buzzword.

To show that silence isn’t empty, it’s full of the things we’ve been avoiding, and the things we desperately need to face.

If twenty hours of stillness helps even one person feel seen, understood, or less alone… then every minute will be worth it.

Capacity over Chaos

Keepin it short and sweet

Life is meant to be lived

You matter

And so do I

Together we are better

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.

So why am I doing this?

We have all been touched in some way or another by the reality of mental health. It can be dark, lonely, and confronting.

Structurally, the statistics are still alarming..

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)

I'm completing the 20 Hours for 20Talk to turn these statistics around. Your contribution goes towards 20Talk's relatable prevention campaigns. They are a mental health charity that makes education cool and accessible, for young people by young people.

Your generous donations go towards:

Every $120 puts a young person through a one day Mental Health Maintenance cours
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 post and for donating to the cause. Hopefully this small challenge can help change someone’s life.

If you ever need to chat, I’m always here. Love you all and thanks again!