Awareness about mental health issues has increased due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with heightened rates of depression and anxiety as everyone was quarantined in their houses for months on end. Luckily, this growing awareness has had a positive effect through the enactment of excused mental health days in schools and workplaces.
Whether you are extremely stressed with a heavy course load at school or behind on paperwork in the office, experts suggest that these taxing times are when you need to take a mental health day the most. While it may seem that skipping out on a hectic day and staying home would only create more stress, pushing yourself to the absolute limit decreases overall productivity. Research shows that last year alone, 47 million Americans quit their jobs due to over exhaustion, emphasizing the importance of even taking just one mental health day each month to ease your mind.
The concept of “relaxing” has been capitalized by the service industry, advertising that the best stress-reliever is a long and expensive weekend at the spa. However, the most effective way to combat mental health struggles is much more affordable. The first step entails taking a day off from your responsibilities, and from there, simple things like going on a walk, doing yoga, eating a nutritious meal, and drinking lots of water vastly improve the quality of your day and your mindset.
States such as Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Nevada, and Oregon have added “mental health issues” to the list of justified reasons for missing school, and receiving a completely excused absence. Similar policies have been implemented in workplaces, where certain companies offer paid leave for mental health days. However, the American capitalist mindset clouds the utilization of these paid mental health days, with too many people choosing to remain at work so that they do not appear to be unproductive.
If you are feeling overwhelmed in any sphere of your life, relieving yourself of your burdens surrounding school, work, or anything else for even one day can change your mood for the rest of the month.
