From anxiety to advocacy: Black Country teen uses poetry to share his mental health journey
Dylan’s journey with local health, voluntary and community services show how support, belonging and youth voice can transform lives.
Dylan, a young person from the Black Country, knows what it feels like to be stuck in a dark place. Struggling with anxiety, he once rarely left his bedroom and felt so disconnected and frightened of the world around him that he had to drop out of college.
Through the combined support of Reflexions, part of Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Routes Dudley, and Dudley Youth Health Champions, Dylan began to find his place. Encouraged to attend sessions that used creative approaches such as poetry, he gradually opened up about his experiences.
Dylan is sharing his story to encourage other young people to talk about their mental health and seek help when they need it.
Reflecting on his journey, Dylan said: “Interacting with everyone at Routes and Reflexions has helped me grow in confidence in every part of my life. It was a real struggle for me at the beginning and it took time, but something changed when I decided to give things a try.
Using poetry helped me express things I’d found hard to talk about, and it gave me the confidence to start sharing my experiences with others.”