Self-Advocacy: Why Mental Health Awareness Isn't Enough

The Lulu Essey Podcast · May 7, 2026 · 20m

Self-advocacy is a mental health conversation we need to be having. We have more awareness than ever, and yet more than half of adults experiencing a mental health condition are still not getting help.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, instead of repeating what everyone already knows, I am asking a different question: what should we be talking about that we are not talking about? The answer this week is self-advocacy, the active practice of being on your own team, not just in a doctor's office but in your relationships, in your inner dialogue, and in the moments where you already have the…