World Mental Health Day: Strength in the Struggle
By Aneeta Prem MBE
Introduction
World Mental Health Day is a time to pause, reflect, and recognise that mental wellbeing is not a privilege. It is a human right. Every year on 10 October, the world unites to highlight the importance of mental health, compassion, and the courage it takes to keep going when life feels overwhelming.
Struggling is not a weakness
Struggling is not a weakness.
It is proof of courage — the kind that never makes headlines, but shows up every single day.
Living with mental health challenges means being a quiet warrior, fighting invisible battles that others cannot see. Each day demands courage to keep going, even when everything feels too heavy. Remember that your worth has never depended on what you achieve — you are enough, and always have been.
This truth is often overlooked in a world that celebrates external success and strength. Yet real strength lies in resilience — in the moments when you choose to keep moving forward, even when it hurts.
Why World Mental Health Day matters
World Mental Health Day reminds us to speak honestly, listen deeply, and act with compassion. It challenges the stigma that still surrounds mental illness and calls for genuine understanding.
For people living with chronic pain, such as trigeminal neuralgia (TN) — often described as the most severe pain known to medicine — mental health and physical health are inseparable. Pain does not exist in isolation. It affects confidence, sleep, relationships, and hope. People living with constant pain endure a hidden struggle that deserves visibility and empathy.
The link between pain and mental health
Research shows that up to half of all people living with long-term pain also experience depression or anxiety. Yet too often, mental and physical health services remain separate. For those enduring severe conditions such as TN, the emotional cost is immense.
Fatigue, fear, and social withdrawal are common. The effort to “keep going” becomes its own form of bravery. Every conversation about World Mental Health Day should include people living with chronic pain, because their courage deserves recognition and support.
Hope and humanity
This day is not only about awareness; it is about action. It invites each of us — as friends, families, employers, and communities — to reach out with empathy and to listen without judgment.
Through my work with TNA UK, I have heard hundreds of personal stories. Each one begins with pain but often ends with hope. Hope begins when someone feels seen. Sometimes all it takes is a kind word, a call, or simply saying, “You are not alone.”
A message for those who are struggling
If you are living with chronic pain or mental health challenges, please hold on to this truth: you are not defined by your condition. You are determined by your courage to face each day.
“Struggling is not weakness. It is proof of courage — the kind that never makes headlines, but shows up every single day.”
— Aneeta Prem MBE
You are enough. You always were.
Reach out for support
If you or someone you know is struggling with chronic pain or emotional distress, help is available.
Call the TNA UK Free Helpline: 0800 999 1899
Visit: www.tna.org.uk
Together we can make invisible pain visible and ensure that no one faces it alone.
are not alone.”