It's World Mental Health Day on October 10th 🌍 Lived Experience: Real Voices, Real Change

This year’s World Mental Health Day theme, Lived experiences: real voices, real change speaks directly to the way we work at CAPITAL.

Lived experience is not something we simply talk about. It is part of how we understand our purpose, shape our work and make decisions.

This World Mental Health Day, we’re celebrating the knowledge, insight and expertise that comes from lived experience, and the difference that can be made when people with their own experiences of mental health are given the opportunity to influence the things that affect them.

We know lived experience matters

People with lived experience bring something essential to conversations about mental health. They can offer insight into what it is really like to navigate mental health challenges, access support and services, and find ways forward.

But lived experience is about more than sharing personal stories. It is also about recognising the expertise that comes from those experiences and creating meaningful opportunities for people to influence decisions, services and systems.

At CAPITAL, we believe people should have a voice in the things that affect their lives. This means creating opportunities for people to share their experiences, develop their confidence, connect with others and contribute to change.

When lived experience is genuinely valued, it can challenge assumptions, identify what is working and what is not, and help shape services around the realities of people’s lives.

WSX LEAG

Our lived experience-led approach runs through everything we do, from our peer-led groups and activities to our involvement, training, consultancy and community work.

We are also proud to host the West Sussex Lived Experience Advisory Group (WSX LEAG).

Established in 2022, WSX LEAG provides an independent lived experience voice across West Sussex. The group brings together people with their own experiences of mental health to share their knowledge, insight and expertise and influence the development of mental health services.

Through its work, WSX LEAG demonstrates what can happen when lived experience is given a meaningful place in conversations about how mental health support is designed and delivered.

We’re incredibly proud of the members who give their time, experience and expertise to this work, and of the contribution they continue to make across West Sussex.

For us, this is what real voices, real change can look like in practice.

Real voices. Real change.

At CAPITAL, we know that lived experience has the power to inform, challenge and change the way we think about mental health.

But that change starts with listening.

This World Mental Health Day, we’re celebrating the people who share their experiences, the people who create space for those voices to be heard, and the people using lived experience to help make mental health support better for everyone.

If you’re looking for a kind, understanding community and support for your mental health, CAPITAL welcomes all. We offer spaces and services designed to help you feel supported, connected and valued.

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Remember, your mental health matters, and together, with kindness and connection, we can navigate the path towards healing and hope.