World Mental Health Day: your experience matters

This World Mental Health Day (10th October), we’re thinking about the importance of listening.

This year’s theme is “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.”

Everyone’s experience of mental health is different.

You may feel low, worried, stressed or overwhelmed. You may not know why you feel different. Or you may have lived with a mental health problem for a long time.

Whatever you’re going through, your experience matters.

You know your own experience best

When you talk to a GP or another health professional about your mental health, you don’t always need to have the right words.

You don’t need to know what is wrong. You don’t need to know what support you need.

It can help to tell us what you have noticed. Tell us how you have been feeling. Tell us how things are affecting your everyday life.

You can also tell us what matters to you.

What are you worried about? What would you like to change? Have you had support before? What helped? What didn’t?

All of this helps us understand you as a whole person, not just your symptoms.

Mental health is part of the bigger picture

Our physical health, mental health and what is happening in our lives are all connected.

This could mean dealing with a loss, feeling lonely, worrying about money, caring for someone else, problems at home or changes in a relationship. All of these things can affect how we feel and cope.

The right support can help. Sometimes your GP will be the best person to talk to. At other times, another service may have particular experience in what you’re going through.

This could be support with anxiety, bereavement, money worries, relationships or caring for someone else.

There are different ways to find support

There are local and national services that can offer advice, practical help or someone to talk to.

Some can help with a particular problem. Others offer support for a range of issues.

You can get in touch with some services directly. This can help you find people with experience in the kind of support you need.

This could be help with grief, loneliness, family and relationship problems, or stress and anxiety.

You can explore different types of support through our self-referral hub.

You can also find organisations and helplines that offer support with mental health, bereavement, loneliness, money worries, caring, relationships and other challenges in life.

Talking can help

If you’re struggling with stress, anxiety, low mood or phobias, NHS Talking Therapies can help.

You can get support from people trained to help with these problems.

Talking to a specialist service can be one way to find the right support for you.

You can also talk to your GP if you’re worried about your mental health.

They can help you understand what might be affecting you. They can also help you think about what support may be right for you.

You don’t have to wait until things feel unbearable

You don’t need to be in crisis before you ask for help.

If you’ve noticed a change in how you feel, you’re finding everyday life harder, or something has been troubling you for a while, it can be worth talking to someone.

That might be your GP, a friend or family member, a support organisation or a service with particular experience.

For example, you may be dealing with grief, money worries, loneliness or problems at home.

Start with what is happening for you.

Your voice matters

Good mental healthcare starts with listening.

Your experiences, concerns and preferences are part of the picture.

They can help you and your healthcare team understand what support may be right for you.

If something isn’t working, it’s OK to say so.

Being heard is not just about having someone listen. It’s about your experience helping to shape what happens next.

This World Mental Health Day, we’re reminded that every person’s experience is different.