Kale John Murray

Absolutely Too Many Men Suffer Quietly

I’m taking on the 20 Hours for 20Talk Challenge — sitting in a 2×2 metre square in a warehouse, alongside around 400 other people, with no talking and no technology for 20 hours.

No phone.
No distractions.
No scrolling.
No escape hatch.

Just a chair, sleeping mat, journal, water, food — and myself.

And anyone who knows me knows this is going to be hard, because nobody talks more than me. I talk to think. I talk to process. I talk when I’m excited, overwhelmed, stressed, joking, explaining myself, or trying to make sense of things.

So 20 hours of silence is not just a little challenge for me. It is going to be a proper mental and emotional test.

But that is exactly why I’m doing it.

Over the last period of my life, I’ve had my own mental health battles. I know what it feels like to be overwhelmed, misunderstood, exhausted, and trying to keep yourself together when everything inside you is loud. I know what it feels like to have too much going on in your head and still feel alone with it.

For me, talking has often been how I survived. It has been how I tried to explain the pain, prove I was still here, connect with people, and stop myself from disappearing into my own head.

So choosing silence for 20 hours means something.

This challenge is a small glimpse into the isolation that people with mental health struggles can feel every day. For some people, silence is peaceful. For others, silence is dark, lonely, confronting, and heavy.

I’m doing this for the men who say “I’m fine” when they are not.
For the young people who don’t know how to ask for help.
For the fathers, sons, brothers, mates, partners, and workers carrying things they don’t know how to put down.
And honestly, I’m doing it for myself too — because I believe turning pain into something useful matters.

The statistics are still confronting:

• Suicide remains the leading cause of death for young people aged 15–44.
• Only 2% of mental health funding goes towards prevention.

I’m completing this challenge to support 20Talk, a mental health charity focused on prevention, education, and making mental health support relatable and accessible for young people.

Donations help fund:

• Young people attending a one-day Mental Health Maintenance course.
• More online resources and mental health education.
• Large-scale interactive events that make these conversations easier to start.

Mental Health Maintenance is about helping people understand their wellbeing, spot warning signs earlier, and learn practical tools before they reach crisis point.

I’m not doing this because silence is easy for me.

I’m doing it because too many people are silent when they are struggling, and they should not have to be.

If this helps even one person speak up, check in on a mate, ask for help, or feel less alone, then the 20 hours will be worth it.

Thank you for reading, donating, sharing, or supporting in any way.

Men need space to speak before silence becomes all they have left.