How to Have A Mental Health Day

We’ve all been there. It’s Thursday morning, you wake up, and the second you open your eyes, you’re already exhausted. Yesterday’s stress is still rattling in your brain, and the thought of even trying to get out of bed is agonizing. If you really and truly feel awful when you wake up, and the stress of the week is weighing on your shoulders and just feels like too much to handle, do yourself a huge, ginormous, favor:

TAKE A BREAK.

If you go hours, days, or even weeks without taking time for yourself, the results can be catastrophic. Sometimes, you just need a day to relax, unwind, and have a day that is all about you. No one else. Just you. This, my friends, is called a Mental Health Day, and I’m going to teach you how to have one.

How to Have a Mental Health Day

Step 1: Pick a day

Choose a day for your Mental Health Day, preferably the day you start feeling like the stress is too much. If you have a full time job or are in school, it can be a little hard to skip a day. But if at all possible, take a day off work or school for your Mental Health Day. If you absolutely can’t, pick a weekend day.

Step 2: Get rid of all non-relaxing thoughts

Take all of the thoughts in your head that have to do with school or work, and empty them out. Listen to music, take a bath, watch your favorite TV show or movie, or even listen to a guided meditation. Do whatever is best for you to bring your focus off of your stress and on to yourself. This day is about you.

Step 3: Make a list

The next step on your Mental Health Day checklist: make a list! Make a list of all the things you say you never have time for, the things that make you happy, or some of your favorite things to do. Do some, or all of these things during your Mental Health Day.

Here’s my list as an example, just in case you’re having trouble making yours:

• Read
• Making crafts
• Taking walks outside
• Yoga
• Listen to jazz
• Take a nap

You don’t have to do every single thing on your list if you don’t want to, but pick at least 3 or 4 you can do that day.

Step 4: Do the things!

This step is pretty self explanatory. Do all of the things you picked out from your list! Ignore all emails, phone calls, texts, Facebook messages, Twitter DMs, etc. Do the things, and remember that this is for YOU. If you find yourself worrying about work or a paper you need to work on, gently push those thoughts aside, and say:

“This is my day. Today is for my health and well being. Everything else can wait.”

Step 5: Reflect

After your Mental Health Day is over, reflect on the day and how it made you feel. Did it make you feel relaxed? Did it make you feel unproductive? Did you find it difficult to focus on yourself and not worry about the things waiting for you in the day ahead? Evaluate the day, make notes about it, and adjust for your next Mental Health Day. There is no certain way to go about having a Mental Health Day. Just do what is right for you. Maybe a whole day is too much and you need to reduce it to a couple of hours. Maybe you need an entire weekend. Maybe one day is the perfect length for you. But whatever you decide to do, remember this:

Your mental health and well-being come before EVERYTHING.

It doesn’t matter what the thing is. Your mental health comes before it. If your health is off balance, everything else will be too, and completing day to day tasks will be even more difficult with a rocky and unstable health condition. Take time for yourself. Take CARE of  yourself. You have to fill your cup before you can pour into anyone else’s.

Have a lovely day,

Hannah