Let Your Voices Be The Change

Written By: Maryam Adhyan Shafeeq

The stigma around mental health is something that exists quite prominently in society even now. Years have passed, and numerous programs have targeted to raise awareness and reduce stigma, but while they've made an impact, they're unfortunately still not enough. Countless challenges still stifle the voices of those struggling. As we approach World Mental Health Day, let’s shed light on this year's theme.

“Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change”

This year, we are not only focusing on raising awareness about the different mental health conditions people can go through, but also bringing the focus onto the real experiences of people who live through these struggles. Moreover, the inclusion of these people in service-giving and policy making was highlighted as well.

To begin, in order to understand why stigma is such a big challenge for society to overcome, we need to know exactly what it entails. Public stigma refers to the unpleasant reactions received from the general population or society towards people with mental illnesses (Shahwan, et al., 2022). This includes stereotypes such as assuming people with mental health conditions are weak or incompetent, or dangerous, or seeking attention; prejudice, which is when an individual agrees with these stereotypes; and discrimination, where individuals act upon these thoughts and prejudices they have (Shahwan, et al., 2022). Discrimination does not only mean being excluded from social groups, such as within a workplace or even from their family, but it can also be on a much larger scale, such as being excluded from employment and other opportunities as well. Therefore, when pushing for more programs that can help increase awareness, these people with mental health conditions mustn't be singled out and excluded but rather heard for their true experiences.

When we build a house, we ask the people who will be residing within, what specific things can accommodate them to the fullest. Similarly, when forming strategies and policies around mental health conditions that have a direct impact on the lives of the people living with these mental health conditions, it is crucial to involve them to ensure that their perspectives are truly heard (Gronholm, et al., 2024). A study exploring this highlighted that this can bring in practical solutions curated from their individual and collective lived experiences, which would further increase the validity and relevance of the research being done (Gronholm, et al., 2024). It also verifies what is stated in policies and what is actually happening in practice through their perspective. Although it should be noted that it is extremely rare to see this occurring in practice. Despite this, research shows that the inclusion of people with mental health conditions in interventions has a positive impact, such as in cases of training sessions being co-facilitated by people who have lived through these experiences, resulting in decreased stigma among primary care practitioners (Gronholm, et al., 2024).

Gaining perspective from all sides, and being able to implement them in interventions, treatments, programs, and strategies can enhance relevance, effectiveness, and even accessibility of these services, as hearing from people who have these mental health conditions can provide a deeper understanding of the individual’s needs and preferences, ultimately bringing in a more person-centered and impactful intervention (Brubacher, et al., 2026). What it essentially does is promote representation, which can empower these individuals while decreasing stigma and improving the overall outcome and satisfaction (Brubacher, et al., 2026). Some of the highlighted perspectives that we highlighted in such research include how it is also important that in programs aiming to decrease stigma, it should not result in ‘over-normalization’ or ‘over-identification’ of mental health conditions (Shahwan, et al., 2022). How many times do we hear the phrase “I like organising my things because I am so OCD.” used casually among the public? Doing so without fully understanding the distress an individual is actually experiencing from the symptoms of the condition can be dismissive to those who have been diagnosed and extremely harmful in spreading misinformation as well (Shahwan, et al., 2022).

Talking about the struggles faced by those with mental health conditions and raising awareness regarding these conditions are all excellent ways we can continue to make a change in society. Even more than that, it is important to include the inspiring stories of the people with lived experiences to fully illustrate that mental health conditions do not have to hinder an individual from having a meaningful life. Their recovery stories can offer the strength, courage, and hope to the next person who might be walking the same path as them. Listening to their experiences and stories, and by including them in the policies and interventions, it can make the road much smoother for the next person.

References

Brubacher, L. J., Rajeswaran, K., McDonald, K., Keczem, S., & Dodd, W. (2026). Engaging people with lived experience in mental health service co-design in Ontario, Canada. Journal of Prevention and Health Promotion, 7(3), 379-402.

Gronholm, P. C., Kline, S., Lamba, M., Lempp, H., Mahkmud, A., Cano, G. M., ... & Sunkel, C. (2024). Exploring perspectives of stigma and discrimination among people with lived experience of mental health conditions: a co-produced qualitative study. EClinicalMedicine, 70.

Shahwan, S., Goh, C. M. J., Tan, G. T. H., Ong, W. J., Chong, S. A., & Subramaniam, M. (2022). Strategies to Reduce Mental Illness Stigma: Perspectives of People with Lived Experience and Caregivers. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1632. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031632