Dylan, 18, diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, depression & body dysmorphia, became nocturnal and missed a year of school. In June 2024, he decided to share his story.
I first started experiencing difficulties during Year 10. Things started slowly at first. I started finding small ways of avoiding the things that made me anxious and this made everything OK for a while.
However, the feelings got stronger and I got better at designing ways to avoid them. But then things quickly escalated and the feelings became overwhelming. I used bigger and bigger safety behaviours to get out of doing things that caused me anxiety and helped me avoid people being disgusted with me.
I kept my face hidden behind a mask. I stopped eating in front of people. I quit rugby just as I was selected to play at county level. I started missing days of school.
At this point, my parents referred me to CAMHS for mental health support, but the waiting lists are massive unless you are at immediate risk of harm. During that wait for help, things got much worse for me.
I then went to a really dark place and stopped going to school altogether. I hated how daylight showed all my flaws, so I became nocturnal and slept during the day. I closed my bedroom door and never came out unless my family were asleep. I had suicidal thoughts every day. I tried to take my life twice. I was out of school for a whole year and missed taking all of my GCSEs.
Three years on from that dark place, I am now back in school. I passed my English and Maths GCSE and I’m about to take my A-level exams and hope to go to university in September to study Psychology. Things are still not great, and I struggle every day, but I am hopeful and excited for the future. There are two really important messages I want to get across.
The first is that I always wanted to go to school, there were just things that got in the way. I needed adults to listen to me, understand me and give me a leg up over the barriers.
The second is what helped me get to where I am today, and what keeps me being able to go to school:
Having parents that fought for me. They did everything they could to make sure that I got access to the medical help I needed and that I could get into A-level without sitting my GCSE’s. I worry for children that don’t have parents with the knowledge, skills or confidence to do this. If that is the case, it is even more important than ever that schools to fight for them.
Having a teacher that never gave up on me, even in my darkest place. That teacher was my head of year, who came to visit me often and even spoke to me through my bedroom door at one point. They were a major reason for why school took me back, even though I hadn’t sat my GCSEs. It scares me to think where I would be right now if I was not able to get back to school.
Getting access to Mental Health interventions and medication was vital, although this came far too late and a lot of my difficulties could have been more manageable if treated at an early stage. Please do your bit to help children get access to mental health interventions early.
Finally, having that continued support at school. For me, this is my Psychology teacher who listens and understands me and is always there when I need them. They think creatively and make adaptations all the time to help me get over the barriers. They never judge. Often the problem is that once a child is back in school, teachers think that the problems are over, but they are not. There are even some new ones added on top for good measure.
September 2025 Update:
Dylan went on to complete his A-Levels and achieved the grades he needed to begin a Psychology degree at Sheffield Hallam University. He is now in his second year and about to take an exciting step, spending a semester studying abroad in Greece.
Life hasn’t magically become easy — Dylan faces daily challenges — but he has found ways to navigate and overcome the barriers that once felt impossible. Most importantly, he is now able to live much more of the life he once dreamed of. His journey shows that with the right support, encouragement and persistence, young people can not only survive the hardest of times but also move forward, grow and thrive.