Importance of "Mental Health Days"

-

 Hey everyone!

Welcome back!!

In all honesty, I was not well acquainted with the term "Mental Health Days" until I saw it in a TV show.
This led me to thinking if something like this actually exists, and if so, how can it benefit us?

So, I did my research, started implementing it in my personal life and wanted to share with you the importance of the same :)

Without further ado, let's get to it!

Starting off with the obvious,

What is a "Mental Health Day"

If your first thought was something related to taking a break, you would be correct.

A Mental Health Day is one where you absolutely cut off from your rat race life and take a step back to rejuvenate yourself.
It’s a day to relax, decompress and take care of yourself overall.

For example, if you've just finished with your exams and sacrificed on your sleep schedule a lot, its regaining that. If you've burnt yourself out with various stressors, its taking a pause from it. 

It's taking time out to relax, to let your body recover and work better.

Though you may not be able to eliminate all of your ongoing stressors in a day,  it will aid in making a significant reduction in a few areas, which may, in turn, create a lasting impact on your stress levels by drastically reducing it.

My "Mental Health Days"

I  completed my 10th grade a few months ago, and if you're from an Indian education background, chances are you're well aware of how stressful the entire year can become.
There were days where I couldn't drag myself due to weeks of burn out and fatigue.

Those were the days that my parents told me that I should call it a day and close my books.
There were a few days where they were aware that I had been burnt out and let me sleep till late to recover from the same.
Most of the time, this would really help me and enhanced my performance in future classes and exams. 

For me, a typical mental health day would look something like waking up at 12 in the afternoon, lazing around, watching television, coding for a bit and catching up on my writing, spending time with my family or calling my best friend.

Importance "Mental Health Days"


I follow a simple philosophy:

If you're sick, you take a break, right? You take ample rest and help your body recover.
The same goes with your mental heath. 
If you're burnt out, it's not going be useful for anyone.
It'll impact your quality of work and chances are, also affect your peers and family.

Keep in mind, not everyday can be a Mental Health Day. You can't use it as an excuse for procrastination and slacking on your work as it completely undermines the very purpose of it.

Take one when you can actually afford it and make the best use of it. 

Everyone has a different and unique burnout cycle. Only you can determine when you need one.


Fun Fact: 10th October is declared as 'World Mental Health Day!'
Check out my post on burn out and self-care to know more about these and how to recover from them here:

Try it out a couple of times and let me know in the comments if it worked for you! 
Don't forget to share and subscribe for more content, every friday!

Signing off,
Kuhu :)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Broken Hot Chocolate Machine

-
Image
 I've been in college for about over a month now. In the 40 days I've spent here, I've visited the food hall over 100 times - of which the Hot chocolate machine has been broken for over 90. Bombay's humidity was quickly replaced by Boston's "Fall" (it's winter guys) and the only thing helping me through the transition was a cup of hot chocolate every morning. But about 2 weeks in, the hot chocolate machine broke.       Initially, a piece of paper, closely stuck by tape, lay pressed against the machine: " Hot Chocolate Machine is Broken! "  4 weeks in, it's now a laminated sheet of paper, carefully stuck to the machine. Someone took the time to type it out onto a computer, print it, cut it, have it laminated, and stick it up to the machine. Do you know what they could be doing in that time? (Hint: getting the machine fixed!) This post is not about the machine. (Obviously Kuhu, it's a Mental Health blog - get to the point!) We often pro
Read more

The Constant Comparison Circle

-
Image
"Wish I had hair like them." "How do they manage being the best at EVERYTHING?" "They're so fit  - look at me: a couch potato" We've all compared ourselves with the people around us. We all compare ourselves with the people around us. We get jealous, begrudged and green with envy. And sometimes we just smile to not let the world know. We get insecure. We feel bad. But what we always forget to accept is the state of the situation. Our situation - their situation. Literally no one out there is a 100% happy with their lives. And, unlike the cliches, maybe we shouldn't be.  Who said that you have to be happy all the time? If you're happy all the time then how do you become a better version of yourself? There will always be someone smarter, richer, more popular, and better-looking than you. Healthy competition is good. It's not a bad thing to have people be better than you. It's a bad thing if you accept that you can never work hard and
Read more

Consistency and the 4 Year Special

-
Image
“Isn’t it funny how, day by day, nothing changes, but when we look back, everything is different.” -C.S. Lewis If you go to the gym for the first time, and you work out, and you come back, you look in the mirror, you will see... Nothing. If you go to the gym the next day, and you come back, and you look in the mirror, you will see... Nothing. Clearly, there are no results, can't be measured, it must not be effective, right? This is the thought that often leads to us quitting. The problem doesn't solely lie in the lack of patience, but rather, in the lack of material. If we don't see it, we tend to believe it doesn't exist. That's where we get it wrong. "Good things take time. Getting better takes time. Building a habit takes time." But they also take consistency.  Going to the gym for nine hours does for a day not get you into shape. Working out every day for 30 minutes gets you into shape. Studying a chapter one night before may work (sometimes); but in t
Read more

Is a Fresh Start Always the Best Thing?

-
Image
 Before starting Junior year, I pledged to myself that I would make it "my year." I would study super hard, I'd make a million friends, and I'd come under the teacher's radar. Jump to September 2022,  I was burnt out. Walking back home with earphones plugged in, I remembered the first line of this post. And then I also realised how incredibly stupid it was of me to think I could ever accomplish it. Now don't get me wrong, it wasn't stupid because it was unattainable; it was stupid because it was unsustainable. Many a time, when we wish to just give up everything and "move on" ( start completely fresh), we tend to forget our past and our learnings from it. That is (one of) the biggest mistake we as humans make. Rather than acknowledging a fact, we tend to ignore it and act like nothing happened because after all, Ignorance is Bliss, na? A fresh start shouldn't mean giving up your whole life in pursuit of something new. A fresh start is when yo
Read more