What’s Happening During Mental Health Awareness Month 2026?

Summary: What’s happening during Mental Health Month 2026 is four full weeks of mental health advocacy centered around one unifying goal: helping everyone with mental health challenges have more good days in the year to come.

Key Points:

• Mental Health Awareness Month (MHAM), sponsored by Mental Health America, happens each year during the month of May.
• The first MHAM was held in 1949, making MHAM 2026 the 77^th annual edition of this important advocacy and awareness month.
• During the month of May, public and private advocacy groups work to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and honor the experiences of people facing mental challenges.

Mental Health Awareness Month 2026: What Are the Goals?

In the 77 years since its inception, an impressive array of public and private entities have contributed to making MHAM what it is today. In addition to Mental Health America, the original founders, sponsors have included the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), and the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH).  Over the years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (ASFSP), and the American Psychological Association (APA) have all contributed to MHAM.

The overall goals of MHAM are worth clarifying:

1. Raise awareness about mental health and mental health treatment.
2. Reduce stigma around mental health and mental health treatment.
3. Honor the experiences of people with mental health challenges.

While those overall goals remain stable year to year, the organizers choose a specific theme for each year. Here’s the theme for 2026:

“More Good Days, Together”

The organizers expand on this theme to help advocates understand the assignment for 2026:

“To help people have more good days by meeting them where they are, supporting them as whole people, and understanding that good is defined by their unique experience and goals. This campaign will equip individuals, organizations, and communities with practical steps and tools to drive tangible and meaningful change.”

Before we share details on how you can support the theme for MHAM 2026, we’ll share the latest facts and figures on mental health in the U.S.

Mental Health in 2026: How Are We Doing?

The short answer: we’re making progress. Although the past several years have been stressful for almost everyone, rates of depression, anxiety, and overall rates of mental illness have plateaued since the pandemic in 2022. Suicide is still a major problem for youth and young adults, however, and is the second leading cause of death for people age 10-34.

That fact alone should be enough to make every month mental health awareness month.

Yet it’s not the only reason we need a mental health awareness month. Consider the following facts and figures from the 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2024 NSDUH), a nationwide survey over 70,000 adolescents and adults across the U.S. that gives us an idea of what’s going on – in terms of mental health and related topics such as drug use and addiction – every year in the general population.

We’ll start with the latest data on suicidality.

Suicidality Among Adults 18+ in 2024

• Had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year:
  • 18+: 5.5%
  • 18-25: 12.6%
  • 26-49: 6.1%
  • 50+: 2.0%
• Made a suicide plan in the past year:
  • 18+: 1.8%
  • 18-25: 4.2%
  • 26-49: 1.8%
  • 50+: 1.1%
• Attempted suicide in the past year:
  • 18+: 0.8%
  • 18-25: 2.0%
  • 26-49: 0.8%
  • 50+: 0.6%

The data clearly demonstrate the elevated levels of suicidality among young adults we refer to above, reaffirming the need to understand, support, and work to improve mental health among young adults.

Next, we’ll share the data on mental illness among adults, starting with general categories.

Adults With Any Mental Illness (AMI) in 2024:

• By Age Group:
  • Total, 18+: 23.4%
  • Young Adults 18-25: 33.2%
  • Adults 26-49: 29.7%
  • Adults 50+: 15.2%

Based on an adult population of around 277 million, that’s close to 64 million adult with any mental illness diagnosed in the past year 2024.

Next, the data on serious mental illness.

Adults With Serious Mental Illness (SMI) in 2024:

• By Age Group:
  • Total 18+: 5.6%
  • Young adults 18-25: 9.4%
  • Adults 26-49: 7.5%
  • Adults 50+: 2.8%

That’s just over 15.5 million adult with serious mental illness diagnosed in the past year 2024.

Now we’ll switch gears and address specific disorders, starting with depression, also called major depressive disorder (MDD), assessed in the NSDUH as major depressive episode (MDE).

Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in 2024: Past Year Prevalence

• Total: 8.2%
• 18-25: 15.9%
• 26-49: 10.0%
• 50+: 4.4%

That’s nearly 23 million adults with at least one MDE, a proxy metric for diagnosis of major depressive disorder.

Next, the data on severe depression, or MDE with severe impairment.

Major Depressive Episode (MDE) With Severe Impairment in 2024: Past Year Prevalence

• Total: 5.6%
• 18-25: 11.5%
• 26-49: 7.0%
• 50+: 2.6%

That’s over 15 million adults with severe MDE.

We’ll close this facts and figures section with the latest data on anxiety, which is the most common mental health disorder in the U.S. and the world.

Past Two-Week Symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Adults 18+, 2024

• Mild symptoms: 14.3% (37.5 million)
  • Male: 11.9% (15.2 million)
  • Female: 16.5% (22.6 million)
• Moderate symptoms: 4.7% (12.2 million)
  • Male: 4.0% (5.1 million)
  • Female: 5.3% (7.1 million)
• Severe symptoms: 2.7% (7.1 million)
  • Male: 2.2% (2.8 million)
  • Female: 3.2% (4.3 million)

That’s nearly 38 million people with mild anxiety, over 12 million with moderate anxiety, and over 7 million with severe symptoms of anxiety.

The reason we need MHAM is that millions of people can use our support. Not just today and this month, but year round. Let’s take a look at what’s happening during Mental Health Month 2026 to help everyone with mental health challenges have more good days.

Mental Health Month 2026: How to Have More Good Days

As we mention in the beginning of this article, the theme for MHAM 2026 is:

“More Good Days, Together”

To have more good days – and have them with the help and support of family, friends, and loved, ones, the advocates at Mental Health America propose taking the following steps.

Define What a Good Day Means for You

We all have different criteria for what makes a day good. Please remember:

• Good doesn’t always mean a party, sunshine, and rainbows.
• Good can mean a calm, peaceful, neutral day where nothing of note happens.
• Your definition of good will change over time, as you change.
• If today is not the best day, remember that you are not alone, and more good days are not only possible, but likely.

If it seems like having any good days at all is beyond your reach, we encourage you to seek professional mental health support.

Take Care of Your Mind, Body, and Spirit

The best mental health care is holistic. That means it addresses the mind, the body, and any other factors associated with mental health. Likewise, the best self-care is holistic, and includes things that help you thrive on physical, emotional, and spiritual levels. To take care of yourself in a holistic manner, remember:

• Physical health and mental health are connected. There’s no way to separate the two, and both are equally important.
• Factors that impact and are impacted by mental health include sleep, diet/nutrition, stress, our relationships, and our environment.
• This means to take care of your mind, body, and spirit, it’s important to get plenty of sleep, eat well, get plenty of exercise, cultivate goodwill in primary relationships, and take the time to make your home space peaceful and relaxing.
• Small good things build upon one another, and create a virtuous, self-perpetuating cycle you can share with the people in your community.

Helping Others is Helping Yourself

When the community thrives, individuals thrive. When individuals thrive, the community grows – and thrives. We hope we can all see how that works, and how our communities are better when we all help one another:

• The mission to have more good days includes everyone.
• Connection is protection: check in on your friends, family, and loved ones, and help them have more good days, too.
• Micro-connections are important. A quick text or call can work wonders. A smile and a pleasant interaction out in the world – with the grocery clerk, a neighbor, a random person you catch rocking out in the care next to you in traffic – can help you have a good day.
• When you make real connections with the people in your community, and when you live in a community of people seeking connection, you can build on your good days together, and help the whole community thrive.

Find the Path to Better That Works for You

In the same way a good day can be different for all of us, your path to better days may not be the same as someone else’s path to better days. But everyone’s path to better days is equally valid. Please remember:

• You can do it. Worldwide, millions of people experience – and navigate – mental health challenges every day. Together, we can all support one another on our respective journeys to better days.
• When we talk about mental health treatment, self-care, and stress reduction, it’s crucial to understand that one size does not fit all.
• If you seek treatment, find what the kind of treatment that works for you. When you plan stress-relieving activities, plan what reduces stress for you. When you create a self-care plan, include the things that make you feel calm, relaxed and peaceful.
• It may take trial and error, but you’re worth it. Putting in the time and effort now to find your path to better days can help today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your life.

We’ll end this section with a quote from the people at Mental Health America:

“The path may look different for everyone, but we all deserve more good days, together.”

We’ll end this article with a week-by-week, day-by-day guide for participating in Mental Health Month 2026.

Four Weeks for Mental Health Awareness: What You Can Do

In their Action Guide for Mental Health, the organizers at MHA created a calendar of things you can do each week and each day to help us all have more good days together.

A Month of Good Days: How to Do It

First Week: Defining the Good Days

• The 3 Ps: pleasure, peace, and pride. Today, notice what elicits those feelings in you.
• Gratitude, Neutral. Identify three things that were good, but no big deal: my outfit looked good today, my roommate made the coffee, and the temperature was perfect for a walk.
• Journaling. Take time to write in your mental health journal about whatever is going on in your life.
• Check in time. Check in with your mental health: How am I doing?
• Feeling check. Take a moment to identify how you feel right now. Label your emotions, reach out to a friend if you need to talk.
• Digital Cleanse. Take a day off social media.
• Find the good. Find something positive to focus on today.

Second Week: Caring for Mind and Body

• Mother’s Day. Call your mother!
• Sleep hygiene. Learn the facts about what you need and how to get it on this CDC resource page for sleep and sleep hygiene.
• Lifestyle changes. Consult this resource for help making changes that promote positive mental health.
• Eat a nutritious meal. No more putting it off: you can learn to eat healthy, great tasting food that supports positive mental health. Use this healthy eating resource.
• Move it around. Take today to move your body. Run, stretch, walk, dance, whatever feels good. Think of it as kindergarten wiggle time – but for adults.
• Mental health action. If you think you have a mental health disorder, take a day to find a professional and schedule a full evaluation.
• The body talks. Take a day to listen to your body. It may be sending you important messages about your mental health that you don’t want to miss.

Third Week: Caring for the Mind and Body

• Protection through connection. Take today to set one small, achievable goal for your social life.
• Look for good with a friend. Ask a friend, or at least one other person, this question: What little thing are you looking forward to tomorrow?
• Furry friends. Spend the day with your pet, or find a friend and spend a few minutes playing and relaxing with it. Pets can help you have more good days, feel less lonely, and improve your mental health.
• Call a friend. When you need to have a good day, connecting with a friend can do the trick. Today, think about reconnecting with an old friend you haven’t talked to in a while.
• Advocate for MHAM 2026. Take a moment to visit the MHAM advocacy page, choose something that resonates with you, and be an advocate for mental health.
• Take a day to volunteer for a cause. Choose one that means something to you: a homeless shelter, a women’s center, a kid’s center, a soup kitchen.
• Find your people. Get out in the world and look for connections with others. A great place to start is with local hobby groups, activity groups, or churches.

Fourth Week: What’s Your Path to Better Days?

• Find awesomeness. Today, take a walk and find something in nature that creates a sense of awe. The natural world is filled with amazing, inspiring things. If you can’t find anything, wait til dark, and look up at the stars.
• Introverts unite. But they stay at home alone to do it. With all this talk about connection, we want to remind you that being an introvert is just fine. Take today to read, write, reflect, and be alone – especially if you’re not alone much.
• Do what you love. Take today to spend time on your hobby or hobbies. Play music, play sports, write a poem, go birding – do whatever it is that makes you happy. Or, you can take today to try a new hobby, and perhaps discover something new to love.
• Find professional support. If you need to talk to someone about serious mental health issues, then get online or get on the phone and find the type of mental health care that works the best for you.
• I’m amazing. Do something today to remind yourself how great you are. Wear something you know makes you look great, or do an activity that makes you feel strong, alive, and capable. When you build yourself up with small things, the big things may feel within reach.

Just as a reminder, you really are amazing.

• You’re amazing. Find a friend and tell them exactly what you like about them. You may learn that helping others feel better helps you feel better.
• Music memory lane. Pick a song from your past that used to be your song, i.e. your personal anthem or theme song. Do the lyrics still resonate? If not, why? And why did they before? Should you put this song back in heavy rotation on your personal playlist? Why or why not?
• Reward yourself. If you’ve taken this entire month to work on having good days, you deserve recognition. Treat yourself to a meal, a movie, or a relaxing afternoon doing something just for you.

That’s it: a month of better days to create an impactful Mental Health Awareness Month 2026. You can do it, and we believe in you. When we work together for mental health, we can all have better days, together.