Whenever you’re feeling sick, either with a cough or the stomach flu, it’s a no brainer to skip class for the day. You send an email to your professor asking for an extension and you stay in bed watching Netflix to nurse yourself back to health. It’s important to get rest, drink tea and relax to get better. If you were overwhelmed with school and stressed, you would still put yourself through a mentally draining day. So why is it so difficult to take a mental health day? Why do we have this need to “power through” and tough it out?
No one needs a reminder that college is stressful. We have classes with heavy workloads, participating in extracurricular activities and managing jobs or any other aspect of college life. College can at times be overwhelming. If someone struggles with mental health issues, it should be OK for them to take a needed day off; even if that means that a student needs to miss class or have a deadline extended. Mental health should be taken as seriously as physical health.
I’ve struggled with mental health issues in the past and one time last semester I wasn’t able to get to class. I skipped both of my classes that day because I felt overwhelmed and uneasy. It’s difficult to put aside a day for your mental health, but it’s important to not only keep yourself physically healthy but mentally too.
It’s hard to imagine taking a day off for mental health concerns, but if you want to do well in school you need to take care of your mental health. Being mentally healthy and stable is just as important as your physical health and no one can tell you otherwise. The way you take care of your body is up to you as long as you don’t put yourself or anyone else at harm. It’s important that every once in awhile you take a break from all the school work and do something healthy for yourself. Whether it’s working out, journaling, going to the movies with friends, find something to do that doesn’t stress you out and allows you to relax.