Elsie

Why I’m doing 20Hours for 20Talk

Heyyyyy 🫣

On 5 September, I will be taking part in 20Hours for 20Talk: sitting in a 2 m x 2 m square, in silence, without technology.

It will be a strange feeling to be trapped in a box; yet, given the past year, this won’t be a foreign feeling. With so much to say, I have felt isolated and unheard in the radio silence, aside from the constant buzz of electricity and an internal monologue which oftentimes just seemed to be screaming at me.

The hardest part, and the one that causes me the most anxiety, is this:

Speaking up about a topic that is incredibly important to me, yet deeply personal. I developed a core thought very early in life: that heavy feelings aren’t always safe to express. Subsequently, I learned to shrink and stay silent. 

As a child with inconsistent access to safe caregivers and professional support, with “mental health awareness” definitely barely, if at all, registering as part of language at the time, life wasn’t without further challenges.

Without further trauma dumping, I know how much these early experiences can follow and shape our lives in ways that aren’t in our best interests when we don’t yet have the understanding or tools to process them.

Reflecting back, I recognise the role this itself played in my experiences. If our caregivers were not given the tools or the language, then they too had limited capacity to support their own wellbeing, let alone their children’s.

That’s a huge part of why 20Talk means something to me.

Their focus isn’t only on responding when someone reaches crisis point. They work with young adults aged 18–30 to build practical mental-health skills and give them tools to manage life’s challenges, including through their Mental Health Maintenance course.

Giving young people tools to cope, process, and learn about their mental health and wellbeing is invaluable. This creates a ripple effect: teaching people early strategies that support their mental health, in turn, contributes to a growing culture of people who are ready to show up as positive advocates. The goal is to break past cycles of shame, stigma, and stereotypes; to show that these conversations are safe to have; and to pass on essential skills before life gets really hard.

So, strangely enough, sitting quietly in a little square for 20 hours feels like a challenge that has found me at exactly the right time.

I’m not doing this from the other side of some perfectly completed healing journey. I’m still finding my feet. But this is a conversation worth being brave enough to have.

Through my lived experience, and the pain of watching those I care about be impacted by current gaps in our system, the mission of 20Talk is especially close to my heart.

My goal is to raise $1,000, with every dollar supporting 20Talk’s work throughout the year.

So, if you’re one of my friends who has quietly wondered how I’ve been lately — I’m getting there. ❤️

And if you’re able to support me by donating, or even just sharing this page, I would be incredibly grateful. It really could mean so much to so many.

 X

20 Hours of Silence for Youth Mental Health.