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Awareness Months

On this page we will highlight national awareness months related to mental health and substance use/misuse.

October is Mental Health Awareness WEEK, World mental health day, national depression screening day

"Building Community: Supporting Mental Well-being Together"

Mental Health Awareness Week

October 5-11, 2026

The first week of October is recognized as Mental Health Awareness Week, a time to increase understanding, encourage dialogue, and reduce stigma surrounding mental health. Congress established Mental Health Awareness Week in 1990 following advocacy by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). This year, NAMI’s focus is on building communities that support mental health together.

Everyone has mental health, and it plays a critical role in our overall wellbeing. Mental health conditions are also quite common. Around 1 in every 5 US adults and 1 in 7 youth experience mental health conditions each year. In 2024, over half of the adults struggling with a mental health condition received treatment.

Mental health and wellbeing may look different for everyone. It’s critical to check in with yourself, recognize how you are doing, and to seek care when you need it. If you can, check in with others too. Let’s make our community’s mental health a priority.

World Mental Health Day

On October 10^th, World Mental Health Day is a time to advocate for mental health and wellbeing around the world. This year’s campaign emphasizes including people with lived experience in important conversations around mental health, whether it be policy or services. Lived experience provides valuable expertise and prioritizing their voices is critical.

National Depression Screening Day

National Depression Screening Day also falls during Mental Health Awareness week. Its goal is to spread awareness about depression and encourage people to notice signs and symptoms of it. Depression is one of the most common mental health conditions -

Around 21 million adults experienced a depressive episode in 2021 in the US.
In 2021, 61% of adults sought treatment for depression.
In 2023, 2 in every 5 high school students experienced symptoms of depression in the US.[1]

There are several types of depression - major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, postpartum depression, psychotic depression, and seasonal affective disorder. It’s more than just a few bad days or feeling blue. Depression[2] often disrupts daily functioning due to a variety of symptoms, including, but not limited to:

Feeling sad or hopeless
Having little energy
Difficulty with sleep
Over or under eating
Feeling irritable or short tempered
Struggling to concentrate
Not engaging in activities you typically enjoy
Feeling worthless or guilty

Feeling sad can be a normal and healthy reaction to difficult experiences. However, if feelings of sadness, or other symptoms, lasts two or more weeks and interrupts your daily life, it may be time to reach out for support. Screening can be an important first step when there are concerns about depression and can help connect people with appropriate resources.

Resources:

[1] CDC. (2024). Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health. Retrieved March 25, 2025, from https://www.cdc.gov/children-mental-health/data-research/index.html

[2] American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787