Nelius Mueni: Mental Health Conversations Must Continue Beyond May

Mental health conversations have become more visible in recent years. From workplaces and schools to churches, homes, and online spaces, more people are beginning to speak openly about burnout, anxiety, grief, and emotional wellbeing. Yet despite this growing awareness, many still struggle to seek support, held back by stigma, fear, limited access to care, or the pressure to appear strong even when they are overwhelmed.

For therapist and wellness advocate Nelius Mueni, this silence is exactly why conversations around emotional wellbeing must continue beyond the Mental Health Awareness Month.

“Mental wellbeing matters for everybody, and no one should feel ashamed for struggling or seeking support,” she says.

“We all experience life challenges differently, and it is important to create spaces where people feel safe to speak, heal, and be supported.”

Nelius is the Founder of My Soul’s Universe, a holistic wellness and capacity-building organisation focused on mental health, psychosocial support, emotional resilience, and personal growth.

Through trainings, mentorship programmes, therapy, counselling, and awareness initiatives, the organisation works with individuals, youth, professionals, educators, and communities navigating different life challenges.

Read Also: Why Mental Health Is Everyone’s Business

Creating Safe Spaces for Healing

Her approach to mental health is grounded in the understanding that emotional and physical wellbeing are closely intertwined.

“When someone experiences illness, trauma, loss, or a difficult life situation, the impact goes beyond the physical body,” she explains. “It affects emotional wellbeing, relationships, identity, self-esteem, purpose, and even a person’s sense of hope and control.”

This understanding of psychosocial wellbeing has shaped much of her advocacy, particularly around grief, caregiving, emotional exhaustion, and resilience. According to Nelius, one of the greatest mistakes society makes is focusing only on physical healing while neglecting the emotional realities that accompany pain and illness.

Her passion for mental health advocacy is deeply personal. She describes it as a response not only to her own experiences, but also to years of observing people suffer without safe spaces where they could feel heard, accepted, and free from judgment.

“My motivation came from seeing how many people lacked environments where they could truly be themselves,” she says. “I wanted to create spaces where people can heal, grow, and gain the tools to navigate everyday life challenges.”

The Youth Are Speaking Up

As conversations around mental health continue gaining momentum in Kenya, Nelius believes young people are playing a significant role in shifting the narrative.

Through her work, she has observed a growing openness among youth to speak about emotional wellbeing, personal struggles, and the need for psychologically safe spaces. She notes that Gen Z in particular is increasingly challenging long-standing attitudes around work culture, burnout, and emotional suppression.

Nelius recalls a conversation with a young person preparing to transition into the job market who described older generations as being accustomed to “glorified suffering” — enduring toxic work environments simply to keep a job.

While she acknowledges that abruptly leaving workplaces may not always be the best solution, she believes the growing conversations around psychological safety at work cannot be dismissed.

“This is not a one-person responsibility,” she explains. “Organisations must create environments where employees feel safe to express concerns without fear, while young people also need to understand workplace culture and develop healthy coping skills.”

According to her, healthier workplaces require compromise, emotional intelligence, supportive leadership, and policies that recognise the realities of a changing workforce.

Beyond the Stigma Around Therapy

Yet even as mental health conversations become more common, stigma remains one of the biggest barriers preventing people from seeking support.

“One common misconception is that therapy is only for people with severe mental illness or for those who are weak,” she says. “But the truth is, everyone reaches a point where they simply need someone to talk to.”

She recalls speaking with a senior educator who once believed therapy was only meant for people who were “losing their minds.” Over time, simple conversations around emotional wellbeing completely changed his perspective, eventually influencing how he engaged with his church community, youth groups, and men’s fellowship spaces.

For Nelius, breaking stigma begins with normalising emotional check-ins in everyday spaces like homes, schools, churches, workplaces, and communities.

“Sometimes people do not need immediate solutions,” she explains. “They just need someone to sit with them, listen to them, and acknowledge their pain without dismissing it.”

The Silent Burden Carried by Caregivers

She particularly emphasises the emotional burden carried by caregivers, a group she believes is often forgotten in conversations around health and healing.

Many experience burnout, emotional exhaustion, chronic stress, sleep difficulties, and anticipatory grief, and feelings of guilt for even wanting to pause and rest. Yet because caregiving is frequently viewed as a responsibility that must simply be endured, their emotional struggles are often overlooked.

Nelius points out that while much of the attention is directed towards the patient, caregivers too need support, emotional validation, rest, and safe spaces to process the realities they face daily.

Mental Health Beyond May

As Mental Health Awareness Month continues to spark conversations globally, Nelius hopes people will move beyond performative awareness and towards intentional compassion.

“Awareness conversations should not end after May,” she says. “They must translate into supportive environments, accessible care, emotional education, healthier organisations, and healthier communities where people can truly thrive mentally, emotionally, and socially.”

Above all, she believes healing often begins with small acts of humanity.

“Extend compassion to yourself and to others,” she says. “Small acts of empathy, listening, and kindness can make a meaningful difference in someone’s life.”

And perhaps that is where real awareness begins- not in hashtags or annual campaigns, but in choosing, every day, to create spaces where people no longer have to suffer in silence.

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