MURIITHI: Happiness and mental health; The siamese twins

Socrates, a classical Greek philosopher, postulates that the ultimate goal of human existence was to achieve a state of eudaimonia, or happiness. 

He further affirms that life is about finding your true north or commitment to meaningful pursuits that give our lives a sense of direction and fulfilment.

It’s about finding joy and fulfilment in the journey of life.

The Stoics believed in living a virtuous life, one with the potential to bring us personal happiness and fulfillment.

Seneca, the father of stoicism, asserts that true happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears, but rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient. The bible commands us to always be happy and joyful as represented by Ecclesiastes 9:8.

Over 400 years ago, Shakespeare avowed that doing good to others is the highest virtue, which is a predominant element to bring happiness in our personal as well as societal life.

Like ‘mercy’ in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, caring is “twice-blessed” – it blesses those who give and those who receive.

The foregoing affirms a correlation between happiness and mental health. Happiness is a precursor to the maintenance of emotional balance.

Happiness brings about optimism, positivity and vitality, which are critical to our well-being. Studies have shown that human beings attempt to find happiness in three main ways: Doing things you’re good at, doing things that are good for you, and doing good for others.

Studies have further affirmed that happiness is closely tied to being happy with one’s job, closest relationships and taking care of oneself physically and emotionally.

According to the World Happiness Report 2025, developing countries often score lowly on happiness. Scandinavian countries are the happiest globally.

The happiest being Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway. These countries have low instances of mental illness.

Cardiovascular diseases have become a key public health concern in Kenya. Happiness lowers one’s risk of contracting cardiovascular disease, lowers your blood pressure, enables better sleep, improves your diet, allows you to maintain a normal body weight through regular exercise, and reduces stress.

On the contrary, the inability to experience joy or pleasure is a precursor of many mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance abuse, among others.

The good news is that the attainment of joy and happiness is attainable, and treatment is available to help regain interest in life’s activities.

There is often a strong sense of denial to anyone facing mental health challenges. It is a natural reaction to the disruption of anyone’s sense of normalcy.

Anyone with a mental illness must accept the condition and the difficulties that deprive them of joy and happiness. Acceptance is essential for anyone’s well-being and their ability to manage life effectively.

Acceptance supports in building and maintaining a positive sense of oneself that ultimately leads to restoring happiness. However, acceptance is a journey and not a destination.

Mental health conditions deprive one joy and happiness. It is crucial to build and maintain a positive sense of oneself.

We are all special souls with a unique story, of which mental health challenge is just one chapter in a book of life with many chapters.

We should always cultivate a positive view of ourselves and engage in activities that reinforce this perception. We should all pursue affirmations of our abilities and worth.

No one inflicted with mental challenges is alone on this journey. There are innumerable stories of people who have circumnavigated these challenges and emerged with a profounder understanding of themselves.

Everyone’s story, too, can be one of empowerment, growth, and profound personal achievement helping one attain joy and happiness.

It is everyone’s responsibility to strive for overall emotional well-being by identifying patterns that make one unhappy and finding ways to address them. Every individual should strive to be happy and make others happy.

Everyone should consider pursuing joy and happiness as a moral goal of life.

The pursuit of happiness can be summarised by Aristotle’s assertion that the purpose of life is happiness. We are called to find happiness and enjoy life for ourselves and others.

Everyone has the capacity to create happy moments each and every day. To reiterate happiness helps us maintain emotional balance reducing the risk mental health challenges.

Eliud Muriithi, Director Commercial Services, KEMSA