For a long time, mental health was pushed to the margins, shrouded in taboos and prejudice. Today, it has become a public health priority, designated a Major National Cause for 2025. Figures from the arts, sports, and media no longer hesitate to speak publicly about their psychological struggles. It is true that the COVID-19 pandemic served as a wake-up call, highlighting the deteriorating mental health of the population, particularly among young people.

This special report from La Santé en action offers insights to help us reflect and act collectively. First and foremost, it is important to define mental health, a concept that has evolved over the past few decades to now encompass everyone’s emotional, psychological, and social well-being. One article revisits the “double continuum model”: one can feel well despite a mental disorder, or conversely, feel unwell without an identified mental illness. Thus, mental health concerns us all, influenced by our environment, our relationships, and our daily lives. In Quebec, the term “positive mental health” is also used; researchers are studying new tools to measure it, to supplement data on the prevalence of mental disorders.

Rich social connections: a protective factor

To improve mental health, we must look beyond pathologies and examine the determinants, as explained in an article. Housing, income level, discrimination, poverty… mental health is weakened or strengthened depending on social, economic, and cultural factors. These are levers in the hands of public policy, which should be coordinated to reduce mental health inequalities. The “Housing First” policy, which targets people in highly precarious situations, is one such example detailed in these pages.

Among the protective factors that need to be revitalized, social connections play a vital role, as another article in this issue demonstrates: having rich social relationships is associated with a significant reduction in the risk of premature mortality. Combating isolation means preserving the mental health of everyone, especially the most vulnerable.

From urban planning to the workplace, including schools

Collective action also relies on creating environments that promote mental health. One article summarizes how to transform today’s dense, polluted, noisy cities—where residents pass each other without speaking—so that they foster the well-being of city dwellers. Another article outlines ways for the workplace to contribute to employees’ mental well-being rather than creating psychosocial risks. A third takes us to the Montérégie region of Quebec, where the Epanouir project is underway to make schools “healthy and safe” places where students feel comfortable learning.

Finally, promoting mental health cannot do without another pillar: strengthening individual skills. The development of psychosocial skills from a very young age is illustrated in Swiss schools through the MindMatters program. An interview sheds light on Minds, a scientifically validated digital tool available free of charge to the general public, which differs significantly from meditation apps due to its educational and preventive approach. Other articles explore peer support: patients’ knowledge is recognized for transforming lived experience into a collective resource.

Also featured in this October issue are articles on sports organizations promoting health, including an interview with the president of a gym in Nice who puts this concept into practice. And an interview describing an action research project that brings together researchers and residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Île-de-France region to improve health literacy in the workplace and better prevent occupational risks.