Have you ever just felt like you can’t (or won’t) get out of bed and go to work? I think we all have been there. We cannot seem to find any exact ailment, but our brain is just tired….tired of dealing with much of anything. We just want to roll over and go back to sleep. Or we want to get up, have a cup of coffee and just BE with our day because we just cannot BE at work.
Do you know what? It is perfectly ok to take a mental health day
If you had a cold, you might decide to power through your workday. But if you had the flu, you’d likely need to stay home and rest — and no one would call you “weak” for getting the flu. In fact, your co-workers would likely thank you for not coming into the office when you’re sick.
Mental health rarely gets the same respect. Instead, people are told to “get over it” when they’re struggling with anxiety, depression, or similar issues. And when those of us try and “power through” a mental health symptom, it can make us feel worse and can potential cause a mental overload that is not so easy to overcome. But mental health is part of your overall health. If you don’t proactively address it, you won’t be able to perform at your best.
One thing PLEASE try and remember – DON’T FEEL GUILTY FOR TAKING A MENTAL HEALTH DAY!!!!!! Taking a mental health day doesn’t mean you need to curl up in your bed, unless you think that’s what is going to bring you the most self care; you may want to go outside, take a drive, take your dogs for a walk, even take yourself out to lunch…that’s all ok as well. Whatever you need to do for YOU is what is important. This might be a good day to schedule a day with your therapist. I have done that in the past. I have spent an hour with him and then spent my day taking care of me. Typically I would walk the dogs and then a late afternoon nap. By the next morning I felt ready to go back to work. Usually!
When was the last time you took a mental health day? Never? That’s not good. Those of us with mental illnesses have to constantly keep our health a priority. It can be exhausting, but you and I both understand that in order to keep our symptoms to a minimum, we must listen to our innerselves and make sure our brain is running like it should.
Take a mental health day and share with me what you did!!!
Take Care
Jenny
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