National campaign on World Mental Health Day

Today, on World Mental Health Day, the National Mental Health Commission (NMHC) launches “This Is Me,” a national campaign rooted in the lived experiences of real Barbadians. Drawing on the 2026 World Mental Health Day global theme—”Lived experiences heard: Real voices, real change”—the campaign recognises that lasting change in how Barbados thinks about, talks about, and responds to mental illness with policy and with people willing to speak their truth.

“This Is Me” is a community-driven initiative inviting Barbadians from every walk of life—young and old, working and retired, in good health and in the middle of a struggle—to share their mental health stories. Their voices, shared with dignity and on their own terms, will be amplified across social media, community spaces, and out-of-home displays as a living testament to the breadth of mental health experience in this country.

The campaign is the centrepiece of the NMHC’s comprehensive 2026 communications programme, which is structured around five priority themes that reflect Barbados’ most urgent mental health challenges.

These are youth mental health and violence prevention, adolescent depression, anxiety, and suicide prevention, substance use and mental health, ageing population and dementia awareness, and mental health literacy and stigma reduction.

Speaking on the launch of the campaign, the NMHC Chair Dr Maisha Emmanuel said, “For too long, mental health in Barbados has been spoken about in clinical terms, by professionals, behind closed doors. ‘This Is Me’ changes that. It says, “Your story matters. Your experience is valid. And when you are ready to share it, Barbados is ready to listen.”

The NMHC recognises that no two mental health journeys are alike — but every one of them is real, and every one of them deserves to be heard. Whether it is the young man navigating rage and grief with no outlet, the mother holding her family together while quietly falling apart, the retired civil servant whose memory is slipping, or the caregiver who has not slept properly in months — this campaign says: you are not invisible, and you are not alone.

“This Is Me” runs through October. Barbadians are invited to follow and engage with the campaign through the NMHC’s official social media channels. For those who need support, call Lifeline Barbados at 536-4500. (PR)