Though 2025 Root 100 honoree Kai Cenat is one of the most famous faces on the internet and streaming, that doesn’t mean things are always going well for him or his mental health. And now he’s opening up about it in his most vulnerable post yet.
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As you well know, conversations about Black boys and men’s mental health have been rising over the past few years. Notable people like Charlamagne tha God and Bakari Sellers have been open about their own struggles and have made it a point to normalize discussions about it–and they should keep doing so. Per a 2024 new study from the University of Georgia and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the second leading cause of death for African Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 and oftentimes, it largely stems from some sort of trauma both physical, emotional and mental. It’s also unfortunately prevalent among Black men, as they die by suicide “at a rate more than four times that of Black women.”
Getting a hold of mental health for young men needs to continue to be at the forefront of mainstream conversations, which is why it’s beneficial for people like Cenat–who’s dealing with more than we all ever had to deal with at 24 and has a major platform–to continue to speak up.
So, in celebration of his birthday on Tuesday (Dec. 16), Cenat decided to open up to his fans and followers about how he’s been “struggling” with his mental health for the past several months due to “self-doubt and fright.” He explained how those feelings are derived from the ambition he has to do more and and accomplish his goals. Previously, at the 2025 Streamer Awards at top of December, he said that he’d been “going through things in my head” and was struggling to find happiness, though he didn’t elaborate on the cause at the time.
“I felt like it was the perfect day to be transparent and honest with you guys. A few days ago, I spread awareness on mental health and how important it is to take care of yourself. Honestly, for the past few months, I’ve been struggling with mental health out of self-doubt and fright of pursuing goals that I really wanna achieve,” Cenat explained in an Instagram video. “The reason I’ve really been in my head is because I just want to do more. I’ve [come] to realize that I’m a true creator, and I’m very passionate about creating and I have other goals and things that I just want to achieve and do more of.”
He went on to say that he’d be posting more on his personal Instagram more than his public one moving forward–but that that page would soon become private–seemingly in an effort to maintain some sort of privacy.
Wanting to end the post on a more positive note, Cenat also shared that his mental health was getting better and he encouraged his community to take better care of their own journeys and told them that he had more things he’d share with them soon.
“I’ve never had this feeling before, but I want it to be known that I truly want to create. I don’t know if I’m getting mature, or I’m just looking at things from a broad point of view, but I’m so passionate about creating in general and I’m excited to show you guys what’s going on,” Cenat shared.
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