35 years of World Mental Health Day, and the stigma that remains.
Every October 10th, the world talks about mental health.
This year, there is a number worth pausing over: 35 years.
World Mental Health Day was first observed in 1992. Its early focus was on improving the quality of mental health services around the world. Thirty-five years later, the theme for 2026 is “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.” It calls for people with lived experience of mental illness to be not merely heard but meaningfully involved in shaping the policies and services that affect their lives.
The evolution of these themes is telling. From improving mental health services to listening to those who have actually experienced them, we have certainly moved forward. Yet, the fact that we are still having to demand that these voices be heard also makes us question how much progress we have truly made.
Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in stigma.
Think about how we respond when someone tells us they have diabetes, hypertension or a thyroid disorder. We express concern. We ask about treatment. We offer sympathy. We see a patient with an illness.
Now imagine someone saying, “I have schizophrenia.”, “I have bipolar disorder.”, or “I have been treated for depression.” The reaction can be very different. Mental illness can evoke fear, discomfort, judgment, shame, and social distance. Instead of wondering how the person is doing, we may wonder whether they are “normal”, “safe”, “fit” to work, or marry or raise a family.
The illness becomes the identity. A person living with schizophrenia becomes “a schizophrenic”. Someone with bipolar disorder becomes “bipolar”. Their diagnosis begins to speak louder than their personality, abilities, and achievements. The illness may improve. But the label may remain.
One of the least discussed aspects of mental health stigma is what happens after the acute illness has improved. Imagine recovering from a mental health condition and returning to work.
Would you feel comfortable telling your colleagues?
Would you tell a prospective employer about your previous treatment?
Would you disclose your psychiatric history before marriage?
Would you be comfortable telling your child’s school that you have a history of mental illness?
Would you be confident that people would see you exactly as they did before they knew?
For many people, the answer is no.
This is particularly painful because people with lived experience are not asking for special treatment. They are asking for the same thing that people with other illnesses are routinely given: the right to be seen as a whole person rather than as their diagnosis.
After 35 years of World Mental Health Day, perhaps we need to move beyond asking, “Do people know about mental illness?” to asking, “How do we treat people who once had one?”
The goal for the next 35 years should be:
Not merely to understand mental illness better, but to fear it less, judge it less, and see the person behind it more.
Because the ultimate measure of progress in mental health may be very simple:
Can someone say, “I have a mental illness,” and still feel that society will see them as a person first?
Dr Vaishali Shanmugam
Junior Consultant Psychiatrist
Kauvery Hospital, Chennai
