Best chances of mental wellness: Strategies for sustained well-being

Practical, evidence-based steps that can make a genuine difference to how you think, feel and function

By Wanjohi P. Mugambi

Mental wellness is no longer a peripheral concern — it sits at the heart of how we learn, work and contribute to the world around us. The World Health Organisation defines mental health not merely as the absence of disorder, but as a state in which a person realises their abilities, copes with the normal stresses of life, works productively and contributes to their community. That definition sets a high bar. Meeting it requires intention, not luck.

The first step, I have found, is deceptively simple: name what you feel. Research in affective science shows that accurately labelling emotions — a process known as affect labelling — reduces reactivity in the brain and improves emotional regulation. Many of my students tell me they are stressed, but stress is a vague category. I ask them to be more precise. Are you tired, disappointed, afraid or lonely? I teach a simple five-minute journaling method: today I feel this, because of this, and what I need is this. When students practise it consistently, self-awareness improves and rumination reduces. That precise naming is the first and most accessible best chance.

Sleep is the second, and the most underrated. Neuroscience confirms that sleep facilitates memory consolidation and emotional processing. Adults need seven to eight hours. Chronic sleep of fewer than six hours is associated with a twofold increase in anxiety symptoms. I protect a consistent sleep window in my own life and teach others to do the same: no screens sixty minutes before bed, a dark and cool room, and a worry book beside the pillow to capture intrusive thoughts before they spiral. Sleep is not laziness. It is a biological requirement for resilience.

Movement comes before mindset. The link between physical activity and mental health is well established. The WHO recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity per week, and meta-analyses show this reduces mild to moderate depression by 25 to 30 per cent. In my own experience, thirty minutes of brisk walking — without a phone, preferably in green spaces — works better than trying to think your way out of stress. Movement releases endorphins and builds self-efficacy. You cannot reason your way out of a body that has not moved.

No one is well alone. The WHO Commission on Social Connection now identifies loneliness as a significant health risk, comparable in impact to smoking. I teach what I call the three-person rule: be intentional about three relationships — one who mentors you upward, one who walks beside you as a peer, and one you mentor downward. That triangle provides guidance, solidarity and purpose simultaneously. I have also learned, through experience, to distinguish constructive feedback from general opinion. If you rise too high, some will say you are proud. If you stay quiet, you are left out. If you live to please everyone, you will lose yourself. Knowing the difference between useful criticism and noise is itself a resilience skill.

Purpose, I have found, comes from daily usefulness rather than grand ambition. Many young Kenyans I work with are anxious not because they lack qualifications, but because they lack a sense of being useful today. Self-Determination Theory identifies competence, autonomy and relatedness as core human needs. I encourage one small useful task before 9 a.m. — helping a child read, organising a workspace, completing a paragraph. That small win builds momentum. For first-generation learners especially, it builds what the psychologist Albert Bandura calls self-efficacy — the strongest predictor of persistence through difficulty.

Boundaries are equally fundamental. Psychological literature defines them as limits that protect time, emotional energy and finances. Many of us were raised to say yes even when we are breaking. That is not humility — it is self-neglect. I practise three personal boundaries: a time boundary, because I am not available after 9 p.m.; a financial boundary, because I can give this amount and not more; and an emotional boundary, because I can listen for twenty minutes and then I need to rest. I teach students to communicate these limits kindly, in their own language, and to repeat them without guilt. People who respect you will adjust. People who use you will be offended — and that reaction is itself useful information.

Finally, seek help early. The treatment gap for mental health in low and middle-income countries exceeds 75 per cent. Most people wait until functioning is severely impaired before reaching out. I use a stepped-care model with those I teach: level one is trusted community support — a teacher, elder or faith leader; level two is a peer support circle for shared skill-building; level three is professional support from a counsellor, psychologist or clinical officer when symptoms such as persistent low mood, sleep disturbance, appetite changes, constant worry or irritability persist beyond two weeks. Seeking help is not weakness. It is health literacy. Just as you would not set your own broken leg, you should not try to mend a broken spirit alone.

Wellness is not an imported concept. Our grandparents practised these principles through communal storytelling, shared labour and collective reflection. Modern research simply gives new language to that old wisdom. Name your feelings precisely, protect your sleep, move daily, invest in three key relationships, create daily usefulness, maintain your boundaries and seek help before the crisis arrives. You have one life — mental wellness is what allows you to live it fully.

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