Helen Melville

I am fundraising for pre and post natal depression.

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 to write in, and a chair to sit on.

So why am I doing this?

In 2010 I was told I would never be able to have kids. 

In 2017 became pregnant. 

Instead of joy I felt fear. I was in shock, I was scared, and living in a regional and remote part of WA where health services operate on a FIFO basis.

I don't recall much of my pregnancy. I grieved for a life I was no longer going to lead, for a change in my life journey, and that I was expected to be grateful for my new circumstances.

I felt nothing. And that nothingness continued until it was nearly too late.

1 in 5 new mums and 1 in 10 new dads experience depression in relation to the birth of a child. 

We need to have conversations and share stories to bring awareness to pre and postal natal depression, especially with young people so they have awareness before becoming parents.

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

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, so someone doesn’t have to go through what I did.

If you have experienced something similar, or ever need to chat, I’m always here. 

Thank you for your support