When to Take a Mental Health Day

5 min

Address your mental wellness by taking time off when you need it so you can get back on track.

A mental health day is a chance to take time off from work to relieve stress or renew vitality. Determining when it’s time to take a mental health day depends on the type of situation you’re dealing with and the kind of work you do. Let's look at three situations where you might decide to take a mental health day.

1. When you’re frequently distracted at work

Everyone gets distracted from time to time, but it becomes a problem when you're constantly distracted to the point where you can't work.

For example, you might find that relationship problems or financial responsibilities like paying bills might be constantly on your mind. If these topics start to keep you from completing your tasks at work, you might want to take a mental health day.

2. When you’ve been neglecting yourself

People often try to push through and complete their tasks even if their mental wellness isn't the best. When that happens, we end up putting self-care on the back burner.

Some signs that you've been neglecting yourself include a lack of sleep or food and distancing yourself from those you care about.

3. When you need to attend appointments to care for your mental health

Just like with physical illness, you might have to go to a specialist for mental illness.

Therapy appointments and doctor visits about medication are appointments that can help take care of your mental illness.

But what do you do on your mental health day?

It depends on what you need, but when you take your mental health day, you decide what you need most. If it’s exhaustion, you might need some rest, if you’re feeling burned out from work, maybe do something you like for fun, and if you need to see a therapist, schedule time for that. 

If you live with a mental illness, like depression, taking a day away can help you focus on yourself and regain your concentration.
But it’s also helpful for anyone struggling to handle stress or manage emotions at work. A day away from the office can give you the break you need to get back on track.

Time for a quiz.

 Yolanda feels like she's been in the office so much lately that she's detached from the rest of the world. Should she take a mental health day?

Quiz 1 of 1

Question 1 of 1

Why should Yolanda take a mental health day?

a
No, she should push through and continue working.
b
Yes, but she should work from home
c
No, she should just cut down her work hours.
d
Yes, she should make time to do something she enjoys.

Get back on track:

Take a moment to reflect on your own mental state. If you've been frequently distracted, neglecting yourself, or need to talk with a therapist, consider taking a mental health day.

Lesson complete