10 Oct World Mental Health Day 2026: Listening to Make a Difference

This 10 October, World Mental Health Day focuses on the experiences of people living with mental health conditions and the importance of listening to their voices to build a more inclusive society

Mental Health Through the Voices of Those Who Experience It. Talking about mental health is important, but listening to those who experience mental health challenges first-hand is even more valuable.

This year, World Mental Health Day is celebrated under the theme “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change”, highlighting the importance of giving people a greater voice in conversations and decisions that affect their own mental health.

For too long, mental health has been discussed primarily in terms of diagnoses, treatments and statistics, often overlooking personal experiences. Yet behind every diagnosis is a different reality, with individual challenges, needs and expectations.

Listening to these stories helps us better understand how mental health conditions affect everyday life and what we can do to provide more meaningful support.

Listening Also Means Including

People with lived experience of mental health challenges have valuable insights to offer into how we understand and respond to these issues.

Their involvement is essential to developing more accessible and person-centred services, challenging prejudice and ensuring that decisions about their well-being reflect their needs and perspectives.

It is also an opportunity to change the way we see others. Mental health should never determine how we value a person, their abilities or their future opportunities.

At We Are Like You (WALY), we work to bring greater visibility to these experiences and encourage more open conversations about mental health, free from labels and stereotypes.

This 10 October, we want to highlight that raising awareness begins with listening, showing respect and recognising everyone’s right to have a say in decisions that affect their lives.

Because making space for different voices is also a way to start making a difference.