Voices That Refuse to Be Silent: World Mental Health Day 2026
Dear Friends,
This Saturday, October 10th, is World Mental Health Day. The theme for 2026 is “Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change.” I find myself thinking about what it takes to be heard, especially in a world that can be very noisy. Progress in mental health has never come from silence. It has come from people who speak up, insist that their experience matters, and keep pushing until systems change. I want to share three examples that give me hope.
The first is Ryan Hampton, recently named to the TIME100 Health list. Ryan’s story began with an injury, a prescription, and an addiction that sabotaged his mental health and nearly took his life. He fought his way into recovery and then kept fighting, for everyone else. As victim co-chair in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy, he represented 130,000 victims and secured an $850 million payout. Through Mobilize Recovery, he has advocated for recovery policy at the national level and helped distribute 900,000 doses of naloxone across 24 states. Ryan reminds us that substance use and mental health are inseparable, and that changing outcomes means changing policy and the systems that shape them. He is speaking up, fighting to be heard, and refusing to let the people he represents be forgotten.
The second is closer to home. At One Mind, our Lived Experience Council reflects a core commitment: the people who know mental health challenges most intimately must be central partners in shaping solutions. The Council’s members bring their own journeys with mental health into everything from our research priorities to our programs, and their writing continues to challenge and teach me. You can explore their pieces here. They write about stigma, disclosure, treatment, and suicide. They highlight the power of speaking up, what it means to be seen and heard, and the ways in which their experiences have helped them grow to be the thoughtful, resilient, and passionate people they are today.
The third is personal. About twelve years ago, life was humming along when, without warning, I was flattened by a tragic personal loss. Life really can change in the blink of an eye. I fell into a debilitating depression, and I don’t know where I would be today without the people who listened, who gave me the time and space to talk as I clawed my way back to life. I will be forever grateful to my family and friends. I am just as grateful to my colleagues, who showed me grace when I needed more time to finish my work or had to step away from meetings. Some workplaces let people fall further. Others catch them. I was lucky. Mine held me up until I could stand on my own again, inspiring me to expand my focus on workplace mental health so that more people could say the same.
This World Mental Health Day reminds us all to make space for people to speak about their mental health needs and to take the time to listen, making sure that what people share is not just heard, but heeded.
Best,
Kathleen M. Pike, PhD
Chief Executive Officer, One Mind