World Mental Health Day

The World Health Organization’s World Mental Health Day raises awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizes efforts in support of mental health. The Day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.

The 2026 theme is Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change, an opportunity to meaningfully engage with people with lived experience (PWLE) of mental health conditions and to recognize their knowledge as a vital form of expertise. This year’s campaign calls for their voices to shape the policies, services and decisions that affect their lives. Lived experience is what someone has experienced themselves, especially when it gives the individual knowledge or understanding that people who have only heard or learnt about such experiences do not have.