“I know I’ll get clowned more for this”: Kai Cenat explained how watching anime helps his mental health
Twitch streamer Kai Cenat, who has spoken openly about his struggles with self-doubt and anxiety, shared that watching anime helps his mental health.
In a series of X posts from Dec. 23. 2025, Cenat discussed how watching Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto helps him build confidence to share his truth and reconnect with what really matters. “It has helped me build way more courage than I ever had before,” he wrote. “Naruto is a prime example of someone who truly believes in chasing your dreams, following your heart, and never giving up.”
The streamer said watching Naruto reminded him to stay in touch with the real world and the people he cares about.
Anime connected Cenat with his courage
Cenat’s comments about the positive effects of anime come after he opened up about his mental health in a post from Dec. 16, 2025.
“I know I’ll get clowned more for this. A few days ago, I decided to open up a little bit about what I’ve been thinking, and it’s been so much love, but when I saw some of the negative feedback I received, I got to see a glimpse of why people don’t speak up about this more often,” he wrote.
“As I was very consistent in streaming there were certain times I realized that I was losing touch of reality, I needed to take a step back and fully reset,” Cenat explained. “I started to realize I wasn’t even spending time with close friends and family behind the scenes as much as I wanted to.”
Naruto is resonating
Cenat said he’s only on the second season of Naruto, but it’s already helped him build more courage than he thought possible.
“I use to think anime was weird and think it was just a cartoon but it has helped me build way more courage than I ever had before & Im only on the 2nd season. Naruto is a prime example of someone who truly believes in chasing your dreams, following your heart, and never giving up.”
Cenat called Naruto his "hands down my personal favorite right now," saying, "this show teaches you so much lessons on how important friendship is, helping others, consistency, and being a morally good person."
Social media rallied behind Kai—and anime
Amid well-wishers and support from his massive viewership, the content creator also caught some backlash from people who refused to feel sorry for a "multi-millionaire" who makes money "just fooling on live every day." Fortunately, the hate didn’t stop Cenat from spreading mental health awareness with his own story, and many of his followers chimed in with similar stories.
"Bro is really tapping into my middle/high school era," wrote @skullboyxo. "Anime helped me deal with so much pain and trauma during that time of my life…. There is nothing better than art and how it can help change and heal the world."
"When a show makes 'being a morally good person' the actual plot, that's legend tier. consistency follows," wrote @NoBanksNearby.
"It’s because western media doesn’t put any value in creating positive role models or messages for boys/ young men - so seeing this type of content is particularly striking, and it’s pervasive in anime," suggested @Vanguard0x.
Others expressed encouragement over speaking out. @MightyKeef responded, "Brother, anyone clowning you about speaking about mental health don’t have opinions worth acknowledging."
"It's tough to balance vulnerability and the internet's cruelty. Just know the support often outweighs the hate," wrote @cryptodaaddy.
"Sometimes you can get lost in the sauce, friends and family will keep you grounded," @Feldmoon added.
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