The Essential Mental Health Day
In today’s fast-paced world mental health days are not optional but an essential part of menta health and well-being. The concept of mental health days was introduced in the 20th century with the sensitization of mental health and well-being getting more attention; mental health was no longer placed on the back burner but became prioritized as people and society developed more awareness of the consequences of neglecting one’s mental health. Mental health days in effect lead to more productivity as people take the much-needed rest to recharge their batteries which become depleted from over work and over stress. Mental health days are not optional as taking one leads to more emotional equilibrium, effectively lowering stress levels.
Taking essential mental health days emerged from the rise of employer-initiated wellness programs in the workplace throughout the 80’s and ‘90’s. This evolved into more advanced workplaces including mental health days in their policies in an effort to prevent burnout and work-related stress. In more recent years covid-19 re-triggered the importance of mental health as many people were afflicted by anxiety, stress and solitude during the lockdown era.
Taking mental health days has incredible positive effects on the body and mind lowering stress hormones such as cortisol in the body. Elevated levels of cortisol are known to wreak havoc on a person’s system leading to medical issues such as hypertension, depression, and anxiety to mention a few. This lowering of stress and cortisol levels subsequently leads to greater emotional equilibrium and an overall sense of balance.
Of those individuals that place a priority on their mental health and make use of mental health days, studies show that they become much more focused and productive in their chosen field and tasks. This leads to making less errors, better time management, and more cooperation with fellow team members as well as improvement in working on tasks alone.
Taking a much-needed mental health day and getting some rest improves cognitive function enhancing problem solving skills, (for more on how stress affects problem solving please see, Overstressed; Your Problem Solving Skills Are At Risk ), memory and inspiring more creativity.
Mental health days have the added effect of acting as a preventative measure, leading to reduced burnout and emotional fatigue. Performance can also improve or be maintained over time and threshold for high stress jobs is improved and higher, leading to greater resilience. This enhances one’s ability to adapt and cope with stress much more efficiently in the long run.
Mental health days are important and beneficial to different individuals. Caregivers can benefit from these days, parents, students, as well as those who suffer from chronic medical conditions or possibly addictions. Raising children is very challenging and some employees find themselves in a place called the sandwich situation where they’re raising and caring for their children while also caring for their ailing parents. This situation can take a toll on work performance and mental well-being. Student life comes with its stressors as well, some students juggle too much between their full course load and part time or even semi full-time jobs all while having to study and prepare for mid-term and finals being constantly on edge about maintaining a competitive GPA if they plan to further their studies. Living with a chronic illness requires constant management which can be overwhelming for some who need the much-needed therapeutic mental health day.
Mental health days are essential to psychological wellness and promote health and healing, leading to a more positive outlook, and improvement in work performance. As an added bonus, mental health days have the effect of improving overall relationships both at home and at work, enhancing interpersonal and social skills. And by the way, don’t be afraid to ask for help sometimes. With therapeutic mental health days there is a reduction in sleep related problems such as insomnia, fewer headaches, and an overall feeling of wellness is achieved.
Take note of how you feel following the essential mental health day. Do you feel more productive, are you smiling more and interacting more pleasantly with others, do you feel more focused and clearer in your thinking and abilities to complete tasks and problem solve?
Mental health days can be spent in different ways. Take a walk in nature. Try a walking meditation. Practice reframing negative thoughts with gentler more positive thoughts. If you don’t feel comfortable with walking meditation, try a guided meditation for at least ten minutes. Make use of coherent breathing. For those unfamiliar to this technique, try breathing in for a count of 4 and exhaling for a count of 6. This is a wonderful technique that will enhance your relaxation response and improve your ability to cope with stress. Try writing in a journal to keep track of your emotional health. Use symbols if it helps you to visually document what you feel. For example, symbols to represent happiness, serenity, tranquility, anger, stress, sadness, etc..
Remember to follow a healthy diet, as much as possible without depriving yourself of the occasional chocolate bar and get some physical exercise. Walking is a wonderful activity that is simple and effective. Even just getting out walking three times a week for half an hour has the benefits of improving your overall mood and outlook and preventing different medical conditions. Try a relaxation program such as Tai Chi or Yoga. A Mental Health Day is a wondeful time to engage in any type of creative activity such as painting, knitting or drawing. ( For more on the benefits of creativity see, Get Creative and Find Your Happy Place ) This is known to also be very relaxing and healing for the mind. Express yourself and sing as well. If you don’t want to get out for a walk, then sing. Singing is known to have the same benefits as going out for a brisk walk and could be a lot of fun as well. You may discover some talents you didn’t even know you had.
We have seen the many benefits of taking the essential mental health day. If it's already built into the policy, make use of it. Do not feel guilty. You work hard most of the time juggling work responsibilities and home life as well. Some of you are suffering from chronic illnesses which you never talk about, and no one knows about either. Take the much-needed respite day, no caregiving allowed on this day unless it's an absolute emergency and take a break to recharge your batteries. Your mental health and happiness depend on it.
There is a reduction in sleep related problems such as insomnia, fewer headaches, and an overall feeling of wellness is achieved.
