As Kenyans welcome 2026, many will make New Year resolutions focused on working harder, earning more, losing weight, or “doing better”. While ambition is commendable, such resolutions often ignore a fundamental truth repeatedly confirmed by psychiatry and lived experience: without mental health, progress is fragile.
In Kenya, the cost of neglecting mental wellbeing is increasingly visible. Depression and anxiety are rising, substance use among young people is growing, families are under strain, healthcare workers face burnout, and suicide rates continue to climb. Yet our resolutions, policies, and public conversations still treat mental health as secondary. If 2026 is to mark genuine national growth, mental wellbeing must move from the margins to the centre of our personal and collective priorities.
From a psychiatric perspective, the way goals are framed can either protect or undermine mental health. Unrealistic, perfection-driven resolutions often trigger shame, self-criticism, and hopelessness. Many people abandon them within weeks, reinforcing a damaging sense of personal failure. Evidence shows that sustainable change comes not from pressure or self-punishment, but from compassion, consistency, and support.
First, Kenya must embrace a preventive approach to mental health. Too often, care is sought only during crisis—after breakdown, addiction, or suicidal behaviour. Prevention, however, is far more humane and cost-effective. Regular emotional check-ins, access to counselling, workplace supervision, rest, and community support should be normalised rather than stigmatised. Mental health care is not a luxury; it is essential public health infrastructure.
Second, we must shift from intensity to consistency. Neuroscience confirms that small, repeated actions reshape the brain more effectively than extreme efforts. Ten minutes of daily physical activity, brief moments of prayer or mindfulness, and honest conversations can significantly improve emotional regulation. For Kenyans navigating economic pressure, caregiving, and uncertainty, realistic habits are far more empowering than impossible ideals.
Keep Reading
- Meet mental health coach 'Hummingbird,' healing hearts and saving one soul at a time
- 'I want to stop': Young Kenyans open up about struggle with masturbation
- Unmasking the pain behind men's mental health
- One conversation at a time: How Karume is making space for men's mental health
Third, 2026 must be the year Kenya confronts toxic shame. Cultural narratives that reward endurance at the expense of vulnerability fuel depression, anxiety, and trauma-related disorders. Psychiatry teaches that healing occurs in safe, compassionate environments. Learning to speak to ourselves and others with kindness is not weakness; it is evidence-based care.
Technology boundaries also deserve urgent attention. Smartphone overuse, exposure to distressing content, and constant digital comparison are dysregulating nervous systems, particularly among adolescents and young adults. Simple commitments—such as phone-free meals, limited screen time, and intentional digital breaks—can markedly improve sleep, focus, and mood. This is a public health issue, not merely a personal choice.
Equally critical are relationships. Mental health thrives in relational safety. Strong families, faith communities, peer groups, and workplaces act as protective buffers against mental illness. In 2026, Kenyans should prioritise fewer but healthier connections, practise boundaries, repair relationships where possible, and release those that consistently cause harm.
Finally, meaning protects mental health. Goals rooted solely in money or status often leave people empty, while those grounded in values, service, faith, and purpose foster resilience.
A healthier Kenya begins with healthier minds.