In 2025, Leeds Mind partnered with RJC Dance to deliver a series of wellbeing workshops to their young dance members as part of their Shahck Out Speak Out Project. These workshops provided a space to explore and discuss mental health, share experiences and learn tools to support wellbeing.
Alice is one of the young dance members at RJC. Here she shares her story – from her experience with mental health challenges at a young age to the way she has seen and experienced stigma amongst her peers. Alice found a safe space to talk about mental health in the workshops Leeds Mind ran through Shahck Out Speak Out, learning that she wasn’t alone in her experience and that by reaching out to the support network around you can be a great way to take care of your wellbeing.
You can read Alice’s story here, and watch the short film to learn more about Shahck Out Speak Out, RJC Dance and the ways that community groups, projects and workshops take action to help us with our mental health.
This video and story are shared as part of Mental Health Awareness Week 2026. The theme for this year is ‘Taking Action’, exploring all the ways that we can act to support the mental wellbeing of ourselves and others in our communities.
Alice’s Story
I became aware of my mental health first when my school became aware. I’m usually quite a bubbly, energetic person and I really only have two sides to me; if I’m not bubbly, friendly and excited, then I’m quite mellow and not really talking, which is how I started showing up at school.
Before we moved to Leeds, I lived in London with my younger brother and my father. My biological mum would sometimes be there, sometimes not. We moved up North because there was the opportunity for a fresh start for our family, and a chance to have a mother figure in mine and my brother’s life.
However, this idea of a ‘nice mother figure’ didn’t go as planned. The treatment I was getting in this new house started to seriously impact my mental health.
I knew families were different, I knew everyone went through different things, but I thought even though it’s different, it’s still normal. When school told me what I was going through was not normal, and it’s not okay, that’s when I started to realise maybe they’re right, and maybe I’m not okay.
Opening up about my experience
There was a teacher who first realised things were going on. At first, I was very reluctant to talk about it. I didn’t know Leeds very well, and the only family I had up here was my little brother and my father.
My teacher reassured me, “If you don’t want me to tell your parents, I won’t, but if you do, I will. Anything that I say, I will let you know before I go speak to them.” It let me feel safe and like I could trust him. I was hesitant to open up about what was going on at home and how I was feeling for a while. But when I started to feel a lot more down, that’s when I started to open up.
Eventually, my dad, my brother, and I left that house. We work well together, us three. Things got better after that; however, we were all still dealing with those hard feelings from the past.
Exploring wellbeing through music and dance
Music has always been so important to me. Growing up in London and with Ghanaian roots, music was everywhere. From my love of music came a love of dance. I dance all the time, at parties and in TikTok videos. I got really into TV shows about dance, and I would copy the dances from these programmes at home. My dad would tell me to quiet down, that it was too much noise. I responded, “But Dad, I want to dance”
Before we moved up to Leeds, when it was just my dad, brother and me, I couldn’t dance outside of school. There wasn’t the time or money. But in Leeds, I had the chance to join RJC Dance. I joined through their summer and October camps and was invited to join permanently. I even started at Northern School of Dance the same week!
Shahck Out Speak Out with RJC Dance and Leeds Mind
At RJC Dance, there is the Shahck Out Speak Out Project, which involved some mental wellbeing workshops after dance class with someone from Leeds Mind. We explored topics like sleep and stress, learned coping techniques, and talked openly. It was a calm, welcoming space where I felt seen and heard.
After a hard, intense dance class, having a nice, relaxing space where we can talk about things was really cool.
Breaking down the stigma of talking about mental health
Usually when I speak about my story with people of my age, they might laugh at me, or degrade me. People would put me in a box where they would assume “oh, she’s just doing it for attention. She’s just saying it for the sake of saying it.” This is why I chose to speak anonymously here: because talking about mental health publicly is different from putting a video of yourself on TikTok. It’s very it’s normalised to do ‘get ready with me’ videos or dances, but it’s not normalised to talk about mental health. If a person online tries to speak up, people are like, “she’s doing it for attention, or she just wants some clout, or she just wants people to sympathise with her,” or things like that. But in the sessions with Leeds Mind, it was different. The group’s reaction, it was like “okay, yeah, I feel you, I get that as well.” The atmosphere was very calm, and it was inviting. And to feel like everyone felt like that, and everyone had a chance to kind of share how they were feeling, and everyone felt comfortable to do so.
Going through mental health challenges at such a young age, not knowing that you’re going through it, having confusing ups and downs. Not knowing if you’re just having a sad moment or if this is because of something bigger. Not knowing that it’s something lots of people deal with. It’s really hard.
What I would like more people to know about young people’s mental health
I think people don’t understand the pressures young people face. People hear about young people experiencing mental health challenges, and they assume it’s attention seeking, or because of their phones, or that they don’t get enough sleep. It’s not always the case. We may not pay bills, but it’s hard being a young person in society today.
That’s why I’m speaking out now: to break the stigma and show others they’re not alone. My advice? Don’t bottle things up. Know that nothing lasts forever, good and bad. With support, you’ll be okay.
I found support in my teachers and through Leeds Mind and Shahck Out Speak Out. The workshops helped me learn that I wasn’t the only one experiencing difficulties and that I had a network of people right in front of me. If you’re unsure where to start, I recommend reaching out to Leeds Mind.
Mental health support from Leeds Mind
Leeds Mind is the local, independent mental health charity for Leeds and West Yorkshire, providing a range of mental health support to our community. From our Suicide Bereavement Services and Befriending Service, to our Counselling Practice and Peer Support, we strive to deliver a diverse range of vital mental health services to help people get the right support, at the right time.
