How to Take An Effective Mental Health Day
Prioritize You.
A mental health day doesn’t need to just be a day off from work, although that is a great option, too. It can mean taking time out of your regular routine or obligations in order to address your personal needs that are not being met. While it may feel beneficial to simply lay in bed on your mental health day, or binge watch your favourite Netflix series, there may be more ways than that to help improve your mood, mental health and feelings of fatigue.
Self-care can include many forms of activities, not just napping and watching movies, though that can be wonderful for distraction, and relaxation. Here is a starter list with alternative ideas for spending time on your mental health day to make the most of it.
If you are able, attempt to engage in a realistic and managable form of movement in your day off. This can be as simple as ten minutes of stretching, or going for a walk outside in the fresh air. Moving our bodies helps release endorphines and increase serotonin levels, the body’s feel-good chemicals that can lead to lasting increases in mood for the entirety of the day, not just while we are engaged in movement.
Expose yourself to sunlight, and if that is not available, arrange in advance for use of a light therapy box. Vitamin D and increased light levels has been proven to improve mood, especially for those suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder, which is when one is not exposed to enough sunlight during the winter months, and our mood reliably decreases as a result. Everyone can benefit from exposure to small doses of sunlight.
Engage with one person or pet that has a typical positive effect on you. Even if you do not feel like socializing in-person, a brief phone call will do. Human connectedness is important for all of us, especially if we can get a welcomed hug or snuggle from a pet, which can reduce cortisol levels, our stress chemical, and can increase the release of oxytocin in the body, which creates a feeling of relaxation and calm.
Begin or engage in one meaningful task that day. This does not mean completing assignment for work or completing homework for school. It means connecting with a task you consider to be important to you, personally. This can include finally reading a chapter of that novel that has been sitting on the shelf too long, because you value reading but haven’t had the time, or working on that adult lego set that you’ve thought would be neat to create one day. Finding and engaging in hobbies and activities of interest provides a sense of purpose, which cultivates motivation and forward momentum, which helps improve energy levels and self-esteem.
Avoid indulging in alcohol or substances. It can be tempting to want to unwind by going out for drinks or reaching for a beer or glass of wind while you watch a movie. This will only hinder the healing your brain is trying to achieve on your mental health day, as appealing as it may seem at the time.
Grieve. Allow yourself to feel your emotions and memories. Processing these feelings is healthy, and will help you to become stronger in facing the difficult emotions when your mental health day is over. Set a time limit, create a safe space to do this, and have a plan to shift focus onto another activity once your grieving time limit is done.
Finally, go head now! Take that nap or rest with some music or a show; it can improve mood, decrease stress, and give you that distraction you may want from reality.
Written by Dr. Gooden, C. Psych
