How to take a mental health day – and make the most of it

If you’re feeling sick, you know that it’s probably best to take a day off from work to rest and feel better. But while we may know how important it is to take care of our mental health, many of us may still be reluctant to take time off from work to do so.

There can be a number of reasons why you might feel like you need a mental health day. Personal problems, poor work relationships and overwork are common reasons – as are burnt out, overwhelmed and stressed. If left unchecked, these factors can eventually lead to stress, unhappiness, and even mental illness.

Addressing mental health problems early is important to prevent them from getting worse. For this reason, it can be useful to take a mental health day to take care of yourself, de-stress, and regroup. So if you’re feeling more tired than usual, having trouble sleeping (or sleeping poorly), experiencing changes in appetite, or even feeling more impatient than normal, it may be a sign that you need to take a day off from work to take care of your mental health take care of.

A word of caution here though. You’re unlikely to spend your mental health day thinking about your ailments, thinking about the things that stress you out, or just doing nothing at all.

Make the most of your day

The best way to spend your mental health day is probably related to why you took it in the first place.

If you’re overwhelmed with your workload and have been very busy, then spending time thinking about how to improve your work-life balance or getting organized can be the most beneficial thing you can do to feel better. If you are unhappy with your job, it might be a good decision to spend the day looking or applying for other jobs.

But if you’re feeling emotionally or psychologically drained, here are a few other things you can do to make things better.

Get creative

We know that creativity is good for us even if you are not very good at what you do.

Whether it’s painting, singing, crafting, or journaling, spending time being creative helps relieve tension and boost energy levels.

It’s a bit like how you worked your way through problems and learned through play as a kid. Creativity works in a very similar way. It can help us relieve stress and indirectly helps us process the things that bothered us in the beginning.

get physical

Exercise has been shown to be as effective as medication in treating many mental health problems. In fact, exercise can be so good for mental health that it’s often used as a first-line treatment for people with moderate depression.

It also doesn’t matter what type of exercise you do. Whether you like running, weightlifting, or Pilates, any exercise is good for relieving stress and elevating your mood — thanks in part to the feel-good chemicals our bodies naturally release during exercise.

Go out

Being in nature has a measurably calming effect on our body – it activates our “rest and digest” (parasympathetic) nervous system, which is important for stress reduction.

You could try activities like tree bathing, a popular pastime in Japan where you walk quietly through forests and woodland areas while trying to be present in the moment and breathe deeply. If you don’t live near a forest, activities like gardening and walking in the park are also very beneficial.

get spiritual

That doesn’t necessarily mean going to church (unless you choose to), but practices like mindfulness, meditation, and yoga have been shown to be exceptionally good for our overall mental well-being. For added benefit, try doing these outdoors when the weather is nice.

To get the most out of your mental health day, spend some time actively thinking about the steps you need to take to improve the issues that may have been affecting your mental health in the first place. It’s best to do this at the beginning of your day so you can spend the rest of the day doing an activity you enjoy. Most importantly, focus on what you do when you can—rather than continuing the cycle of worry or suffering. However, this may take some practice to get the hang of.

Regardless, it’s likely that you’ll take a day that you feel you need to actively invest in yourself, recharge your batteries, and address any issues that may be troubling you. And if you keep these practices in your daily life, you’ll likely see lasting mental health benefits.

Sandra Walker is a Clinical Academic in Creative and Community Approaches to Mental Distress at the University of Portsmouth.

This article was republished by The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Main image: Anthony Tran