When you feel sick, you know it’s probably best to take the day off work to recover 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 hesitant to take time off from work to do so.
There may be a number of reasons why you may feel like you need to take a mental health day. Personal problems, poor work relationships, and overwork are all common reasons – as well as feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and stressed. If left unchecked, these factors can eventually lead to stress, unhappiness, and even Mental illness.
Address mental health issues early It is important to prevent them from getting worse. That’s why it can be helpful to take a mental health day to take care of yourself, de-stress, and regroup. So if you’ve been feeling more tired than usual, having trouble sleeping (or not sleeping well), experiencing changes in appetite, or even feeling more impatient than usual, it may be a sign that you need to take a day off. work to take care of your mental health.
However, a word of caution here. Spending your mental health day ruminating on your problems, thinking about the things that stress you out, or just doing nothing is unlikely to have any benefit for you.
Making the most of your day
The best way to spend your mental health day is likely related to why you took it in the first place.
If you’re overwhelmed with your workload and have been very busy, spending time thinking about how you can improve your work-life balance or get organized may be more helpful in helping you feel better. If you’re miserable with your job, then spending the day looking for or applying for other jobs might be a good option.
But if you’re feeling emotionally or psychologically drained, here are some other things you can do to make things better:
Be creative. We know creativity is good for useven if you’re not very good at what you’re doing.
Whether painting, singing, doing crafts, or journaling, spending time being creative Helps release tension and increase energy levels.
It’s a bit like how you fixed the problems and learned playing when I was little. Creativity works the same way. It can help us relieve stress and indirectly helps us work through the things that bothered us in the beginning.
reach hands. The exercise is shown as effective as medicine in the treatment of 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 kind of exercise you do. Whether you like running, lifting weights, or pilates, any exercise is good for you. manage stress and lift your spirits – thanks, in part, to the feel-good chemicals our bodies naturally release during exercise.
Go outside. Being in nature has a measurable calming effect in our bodies: activates our “rest and digest” (parasympathetic) nervous systemwhich is important to help reduce stress levels.
You could try activities like tree bath, a popular pastime in Japan, which consists of quietly walking through forests and jungles while trying to be present in the moment and take deep breaths. If you don’t live near a forest, activities like gardening and walking in the park are also really beneficial.
Get spiritual. This doesn’t necessarily mean going to church (unless that’s what you want to do), but practices like full attention, meditation Y yoga they have been shown to be exceptionally good for our overall mental well-being. For an added benefit, try doing this outside in good weather.
To get the most out of your mental health day, spend some time actively considering what steps you need to take to improve whatever issues may have been affecting your mental health in the first place. It may be best to do this at the beginning of your day so that you can spend the rest of the day doing an activity that you enjoy. Most importantly, focus on what you’re doing if you can, instead of continuing the cycle of worry or anguish. However, this may take some practice to get used to.
Still, taking a day when you feel like you need to actively invest in yourself, recharge your batteries, and address any issues that might be troubling you is likely to have long-term benefits for your mental health. And if you keep these practices in your daily life, you’ll likely see ongoing mental health benefits.
Clinical Scholar in Creative and Community Approaches to Mental Distress, University of Portsmouth
This article is republished from The conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the Original article.
Also read: The mental health conversation in India is opening up. Next up is better access to treatment
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