At some point in your life, you’ll experience varying degrees of stress. Finding healthy ways to manage this stress can be difficult at times, especially when it’s coupled with depression or anxiety. It’s important to listen to your body and make sure you take a break when experiencing higher than normal stress levels, or when you’ve taken all that you can handle. Sometimes, taking a day to yourself to recharge your batteries can help with stress relief and prevent burnout. One day may not solve all your issues, but it can provide a foundation for a much needed break, providing a sense of relief and new perspective on whatever you’re dealing with at the time.
The question is, how do you know it?? the right time for a mental health day, and how can you get the most out of it? Taking sick days for your physical health is the traditional way of using your sick pay, but the practice of taking time off for your mental health may seem like a gray area. You may feel guilty or hesitant to use one of your paid-time-off days to attend to your mental health, but when you’re feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and burned out, it can hurt your performance at work, your patient’s success, and your relationship with your co-workers. The key is knowing your personal limits, and taking a mental health day to maintain your overall health before things get out of control.
As we know, your mental health is just as important as your physical health. We encourage you to take care of yourself before you show up to work everyday, so you can continue to grow and provide the best care possible to our patients here at TMS Solutions.
The following suggestions are from blogger Ashley Laderer in her recent post on Medium on how to take the perfect mental health day. Just like you’d treat any sick day, do things that make you feel better!
- When you ask for a mental health day, make it clear that your employer will benefit from this, too! If you have PTO, consider a recharge!
- Exercise: As tempting as it is to sleep in and be lazy, be sure to exercise to maximize your mental health day.
- Get outdoors: Fresh air and sunshine are good for the soul. It’s beneficial to get outside when you spend the majority of your time indoors.
- Have fun: if you need a mental health day, you probably aren’t having a great time at work. Consider spending time with family or friends and doing something you enjoy.
- Relax: this can look different to every individual, but consider something that doesn’t require a lot of brain power or excessive use of your muscles, like attending yoga, getting a massage, taking a walk in nature, etc.
The things NOT to do on your mental health day:
- Binge watch TV
- Avoid friends and family
- Smoke, drink, or use other substances
- Overeat unhealthy foods
- Ruminate or wallow in negative emotions
- Spend all day reading posts on social media
In case you need to hear this today, Happy Monday! Keep on keeping on–you are awesome!
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including YOU. — Anne Lamott
