The 2026 Present, the 2016 Nostalgic Past, and the 2036 Projected Mental Health Future
Key Takeaways
- Nostalgia for 2016 is linked to social loneliness and political anxiety, particularly among Gen Z.
- Significant events in 2016 included "Hamilton," Pokemon Go, and Donald Trump's election, alongside physician burnout.
Explore the evolving landscape of psychiatry as it reflects on past events, current challenges, and future predictions for mental health.
PSYCHIATRIC VIEWS ON THE DAILY NEWS
My recent columns and videos on 2026 have been focused on time, perhaps because I will be turning 80. However, it looks like it is also a timely year for many others.
According to the USA Today article on January 6, 2026, “Why some people want to go back to 2016,” there has been a nostalgia movement of preoccupation with 2016, particularly for Gen Z.1 “Happy 2016” greetings have been common. Intense nostalgia like this is often triggered by increased social loneliness and political anxiety in the present.
2016
Goodness knows, 2016 was a mixed mental bag. The musical “Hamilton” and its challenge to cultural stereotypes came out; the Pokemon Go game became very popular; the smartphone era took off; and Donald Trump was a surprise winner of the Presidential election. Burnout among physicians reached enduring epidemic levels.
Back then, I was not writing weekdays’ columns or taping weekly videos. But I did do articles monthly. One of them was a Halloween article on October 29, 2016, titled “
Psychiatric Times and I also conducted a “
2026
By 2026, President Trump was reelected, “Hamilton” is touring, smartphones may be making us dumber, and a Pokemon store was recently robbed of $100,000 in merchandise in Manhattan. There are also more wars, political conflicts, and a continuing increase in some psychiatric disorders along with decreases in resources, as well as some common social psychopathologies like anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and sexism.
2036
We know how hard it is to predict the future. Moreover, perhaps due to artificial intelligence (AI), change seems to be escalating rapidly. We can, however, pay more attention to our health, as is being addressed in lifestyle psychiatry. We can use an AI tool to project our appearance, and the projected aging may stimulate more health attention and concerns.
What’s in a Decade?
Most of these developments suggest a greater need for psychiatric professionals, not only for individual patient treatment, hopefully with improved tools and resources, but for the social psychiatric problems contributing to our general mental distress.
Are we in psychiatry prepared to address our needs?
Dr Moffic is an award-winning psychiatrist who specialized in the cultural and ethical aspects of psychiatry and is now in retirement and retirement as a private pro bono community psychiatrist. A prolific writer and speaker, he has done a weekday column titled “Psychiatric Views on the Daily News” and a weekly video, “Psychiatry & Society,” since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. He was chosen to receive the 2024 Abraham Halpern Humanitarian Award from the American Association for Social Psychiatry. Previously, he received the Administrative Award in 2016 from the American Psychiatric Association, the one-time designation of being a Hero of Public Psychiatry from the Speaker of the Assembly of the APA in 2002, and the Exemplary Psychiatrist Award from the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in 1991. He presented the third Rabbi Jeffrey B. Stiffman lecture at Congregation Shaare Emeth in St. Louis on Sunday, May 19, 2024. He is an advocate and activist for mental health issues related to climate instability, physician burnout, and xenophobia. He is now editing the final book in a 4-volume series on religions and psychiatry for Springer: Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianity, and now The Eastern Religions, and Spirituality. He serves on the Editorial Board of Psychiatric Times.
Reference
1. Perez K. Why some people want to go back to 2016. USA Today. January 6, 2026. Accessed January 20, 2026.
2. Moffic HS. 5 new treatments: are they tricks or treats? Psychiatric Times. October 29, 2016.
3. Moffic HS. Secret poll: your preference for our next president? Psychiatric Times. July 29, 2016.
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