With our society glorifying the culture of always being ‘on-the-go,’ it can be mentally and physically exhausting to always serve others (whether that be your job, your family or even your friends). Therefore, it is important to acknowledge when you are feeling burnt out so that you can show some love to yourself and mentally recharge. Sometimes, this can mean taking a mental health day. While a mental health day might not necessarily get rid of the anxiety and stress associated with burnout, it will still be efficient as it will provide you the time needed to press pause on life to recharge and reevaluate your priorities.
Now, the question is, “When do we take a mental health day?”. Well, ideally, you would schedule your mental health day in advance so that you are able to rearrange your work load or possibly find someone to cover for you if necessary. I personally like to take my mental health days on the weekends so as to not cause too much inconvenience to others. Once you’ve planned your mental health day, it is important to then plan what you want to get out of it.
An effective mental health day can help you destress, rest and relax. The beauty of a mental health day is that you are allowed to take things as slowly as possible. With our minds seemingly going a mile a minute when we are stressed, the slow pace of a mental health day can help you calmly sort through your thoughts.
When your mental health day finally arrives, take a minute to celebrate the fact that you’ve gotten so far. We often tend to neglect our accomplishments, whether they are big or small, due to the perfectionist nature society has embedded in us. Then, decide what you need the most out of your mental health day.
If you need to relax, engage in activities such as yoga or taking a walk in the park. Try to stay off social media. The whole point of a mental health day is to momentarily unplug from society and to focus on yourself. This means that binge-watching Netflix in bed for ten hours is not an activity that counts as relaxing. This is because your mind will not be fully engaged, which can cause you to feel slumped. Instead, try catching up on sleep, especially if you have been getting less than 8 hours of sleep at night.
Now, some might try to make their mental health days more fun. This is perfectly acceptable, especially if you have been feeling down in the dumps lately. Plan to do something that you normally love,but don’t engage in too often or something you’ve always wanted to try for an extra adrenaline rush. If you can’t think of anything to engage in, try activities such as your hobbies or games to mentally challenge yourself.
A fun mental health day might not be everyone’s cup of tea. If you need to calm down and reevaluate your life, do that on your mental health day. You can start by creating a list of things that you are worried about and then proceed to prioritize them according to deadlines and priorities. This will allow your mind to see a clearer picture of what exactly you need to focus on at that moment.
I hope that these tips on how to have an effective mental health day are helpful and will allow you to work on yourself. It is important to love and care for others, but do not forget about your own well-being.