By Matthew McKenzie – Carer Activist

For World Mental Health Day 2026, I have created a short campaign video reflecting on this year’s theme: “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change.”

As someone who cared for my mother, who lived with schizophrenia, this message means a great deal to me. People living with mental ill health deserve to shape the care they receive. Alongside them, unpaid carers also bring experiences and knowledge that services need to hear.

Caring can involve supporting someone through appointments, noticing changes in their wellbeing, or helping them settle at home after hospital. It can also mean uncertainty, sleepless nights and struggling to find someone who will listen.

Yet how often does someone ask the carer, “How are you coping?”

In my video, I highlight the importance of supporting carers’ own mental health and hearing from Black and minority ethnic carers, whose experiences of racism, stigma and exclusion need recognition and action.

I also discuss the Triangle of Care, which strengthens the partnership between the person receiving care, their carer and mental health professionals. That partnership must respect the person’s wishes, privacy and dignity while recognising the carer’s contribution and support needs.

World Mental Health Day brings global attention to these issues through the World Federation for Mental Health and the World Health Organization. Organisations including the Mental Health Foundation, Rethink Mental Illness, Carers UK and Carers Trust also provide valuable information, advocacy and support.

My message is simple: listening should lead to meaningful involvement and visible change.

If you are an unpaid mental health carer, your experience matters. You deserve care too.

Watch my short video and please share it to help unpaid carers feel seen and heard.