The start of a journey
My journey into mental health did not begin because of my discipline. It was deeper than that. I became involved in mental health work as a result of personal struggles, internal battles that I couldn't fully articulate at the time. What I was going through didn’t have a name back then, at least not one I could give it. It wasn’t a diagnosis that pushed me into this space, but rather a personal calling that emerged from lived experiences, the kind that silently shapes how you see yourself and the world. At the time, I never considered my experience to be particularly significant, or even relevant. It was just my reality. That changed when I began engaging directly with mental health work.
Through my work with my organization I have had the privilege to be invited to engage in a mental health focus group but not until I had the opportunity to be part of some project at MQ around 2021. However, it wasn’t until 2023, when I had the opportunity to be selected as part of the Global Lived Experience Advisory Board (GLEAB) under MQ Mental Health, that my personal journey and my professional path truly converged. That experience brought about a shift in how I viewed both myself and the work I was doing.
At first, I’ll admit, I faced challenges. I often questioned my place and the value of my contribution. I remember thinking, What exactly do I bring to this space? I didn’t have the clinical background. All I had was my experience, and I wasn’t entirely sure that was enough. I felt this quiet tension: on one hand, I was honored to be there; on the other, I was wrestling with imposter syndrome, unsure how to translate what I had been through into something meaningful within the larger conversation on mental health.
Lived experience is not a footnote, it is the foundation
Then I had a conversation with one of the MQ leaders that completely shifted my perspective. She told me, quite simply but powerfully: “Your experience is valuable.” It was a sentence that settled deeply in my spirit. In that moment, something clicked. I realized that lived experience is not a footnote, it is the foundation. It isn’t an afterthought to data or policy; it is the human reality those numbers represent. That was the turning point for me. I started to embrace the fact that my journey wasn’t just valid, it was essential.
Through my time at GLEAB, I’ve encountered individuals from across the globe, people from varied cultures, traditions, and belief systems, all bringing their unique perspectives to the table. Instead of these differences creating friction, they became points of connection. We began to learn from each other. We listened deeply. We exchanged stories and insights that pushed us beyond our own assumptions. I began to understand mental health not just as a personal journey, but as a collective reality, one that demands empathy, collaboration, and shared responsibility.
This experience continues to teach me that representation truly matters. It is one thing to speak about mental health from a distance; it’s another thing entirely to speak from a place of experience. And when people from different backgrounds come together, not to argue but to build, something powerful happens. We’re united by a common purpose, to transform mental health systems through the lens of lived experience. In doing so, we’re not just shaping narratives, we’re reshaping environments to be more inclusive, more compassionate, and more human-centered.
The real impact of Lived Experience in research
Being a part of GLEAB reinforced a critical truth: inclusion and representation go far beyond simply having a seat at the table. It’s about what happens when you're there. It’s about ensuring that every voice is heard, that every contribution is taken seriously, and that lived experience is treated with the same level of respect as any other form of expertise. Recognizing and valuing lived experience is essential for fostering true inclusivity, especially in spaces where certain voices have historically been left out or overlooked.
Lived experience has the power to challenge dominant norms. It calls systems and structures to reflect, to evolve. It invites those in power to pause and reconsider how decisions are made, and who gets to make them. When people with real-life experience are placed at the center of these conversations, what results are not only more equitable, it is more effective.
Today, I carry this with me in every space I step into. I believe that healing — whether personal, communal, or institutional — begins when we acknowledge the power of every story. And in spaces like GLEAB, we are not merely telling our stories for the sake of it. We are shaping mental health research outcomes from guess work. And we are building a world where no voice is too small, and no experience is ever wasted.
