Note To Younger Self
February 23, 2026
The following story was published by The Star Newspaper on October 2018 following World Mental Health Day. View the publication HERE.
Mental Health: Powerless By State of Mind
Contemplation over the power of a healthy mental state poured itself all over the globe in the wake of World Mental Health Day on October 10. Statistics ran through news channels, revealing how over 800,000 people die due to suicide every year globally, of which 75 per cent occur in low- and middle-income countries.
Moreover, Lady Gaga marked this year’s observation of the day with an opinion piece terming mental health an emergency. “By the time you finish reading this, at least six people will have killed themselves around the world,” read the article co-written with Tedros Adhanom, Director General of the World Health Organisation.
Conversation around mental health care is getting amplified as stakeholders hold forums to dissect and elaborate mental health. However, the need to walk the talk is beckoning, lest we lose more lives.
I first met mental illness in 2008. Munyao, a family friend, took his own life after strangling his wife, Kaluki. Munyao had been an alcoholic for as long as I could remember. Four years before his demise (2004), there was a call-out in our local church to contribute money for his admission at a rehabilitation centre.
In 2006, there was another call for more contribution to send him to a mental hospital, with the announcement citing that he had been diagnosed with clinical depression. After six months at the hospital, he returned home to rumours that Kaluki was having an affair with the very same pastor who raised funds for his recovery.
After a heated argument about the affair, Munyao tightened a kettle cord across Kaluki’s neck until she fell on the floor. When he returned home and found her on the floor ice-cold, he scribbled a note and consumed Rat Rat, the rodenticide.
Jane Mukami, a sought-after Kenyan fitness trainer, will tell you that she met mental illness when her brother, Stephen Githehu, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. When he started to withdraw and send suicidal texts, the family reached out to various authorities in the United States, where he lived, and Kenya to help check him into a mental hospital. Police said that unless he does something that calls for his admission, they cannot involuntarily check him in. In February 2017, Stephen shot himself in his apartment.
“God forgot about me, so did my family. What am I living for? This earth is not a place to be. Goodbye World!” the note read.
Wakili Nelly Maina
As you listen to this episode, take a moment to reflect on your own journey. Where have you shown resilience? Where can you extend yourself more compassion? Inner strength is not discovered in a single breakthrough moment—it is uncovered through honest reflection and courageous action.
Tune in, reflect deeply, and share this episode with someone who may need the reminder. Because when young people learn to love themselves, they begin to transform not just their own lives—but entire communities. 💛