World Mental Health Day: Lived Experiences heard: real voices, real change
October 10 is World Mental health Day, a day set aside to shine a light on the importance of mental health, and to challenge stigma surrounding mental health. The theme for 2026 is, “Lived Experiences heard, real voices, real changes”.
These are lofty words. And yet, there is still such stigma and discrimination around talking about mental health. These continue to be barriers to accessing treatment and support. Discussing mental-health challenges at work can be particularly difficult. Change is coming, but it is slow.
The Joint Learning Program’s Mental Health in the Workplace was released in 2014. At the time, the in-person workshop was ground-breaking: the conversation around mental health and how it affected federal workers was still in its infancy. Since that time, over 1,500 in-person workshops have taken place across Canada, and Mental Health: Let’s Talk!, the virtual discussion launched in 2021, has been offered more than 300 times.
Q: What parts of the workshop did you find most useful?
I think talking about stigma surrounding mental health, like the self, public and institutional sigma really understand the issues behind mental health. Also talking about the signs of mental health conditions/illnesses and thinking about how they could be misinterpreted. It really opened up my personal biases and dismantled them.
- Mental Health in the Workplace participant
One of the reasons for its success is the model on which JLP learning activities are built: experiential learning. The premise of experiential learning is that the knowledge is in the room. Co-facilitators are not subject-matter experts, rather they are there to guide the conversation, drawing on participants’ knowledge and experiences, while creating a safe space for dialogue and fostering a deeper mutual understanding.
Real change can only happen when we are creating space to talk, listen and learn from one another. Sharing lived experiences can be powerful, but it is also deeply personal. People should be able to choose if, when and how they share their experiences, in a space where they feel safe, respected and ready to do so. By creating idedal conditions for safe sharing, and truly listening when people choose to speak, we can foster greater understanding and help create healthier, more supportive workplace for everyone.
Photo by Lena Fedorov on Unsplash.com