Stress, pressure, depression, running around doing fifty different things every day? These days it doesn’t matter where you are in life. You may be a young parent, a young professional, a student or at the peak of your career, the demands on you are endless. Or are they? Sure, your to-do list is always full, but how many of those things are essential to your well-being? Before you answer ‘All of them’ take a step back and really think about it.
When I was in grammar school I had a teacher who used to make us recite ‘The only thing you have to do is die.’ I know, it may sound morbid, but anytime we said something like ‘I HAVE to get xyz’ she would remind us that the only thing we had to do was to die.
Sometimes, when I find the stress is getting a bit out of hand, I remind myself of this saying. It isn’t a have to, it is a choice.
And that is why sometimes I choose to take a Mental Health Day.
We all take days off when we are sick with the flu. If you are running a high fever, your colleagues don’t want you coming into the office. But if you are feeling stressed out, are incapable of focusing on any kind of work, and are on the verge of a breakdown, many people still go into the office. This leads to conflict in the work place, people getting into arguments, road rage and issues with drug and alcohol abuse.
Taking a Mental Health Day, a day off when you feel you have had too much of the rat race, can be a real lifesaver for both you and your colleagues. The purpose of taking a Mental Health Day isn’t to fill it with useless errands and to-do things you have left in your home. The purpose of taking a Mental Health Day is to take care of your mental health. Go and get a massage. Spend an extra hour at the gym. Get a manicure and pedicure. Go on a hike. Spend it doing retail therapy. Give yourself a day.
Taking a Mental Health Day can be rewarding because it can help revitalize your energy, help you be more focused on the things you need to get done and help you to enjoy your work more. Don’t be embarrassed or shy to take a Mental Health Day. We should all do it now and then, to create a more healthy work environment.
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