Take a Mental Health Day

When I was a kid, I remember a teacher taking a day off from school because she needed a mental health day. I was under ten at the time and didn’t really understand what that meant. I do recall some of the parents scoffing at that concept, however. Caring for your mental health in the 1970’s wasn’t something that was talked about.

Now the conversations are flowing more freely and we have designated May as Mental Health Awareness month. I’m sure you know someone who has struggled with mental health, especially given everything that has happened the last few years. It may be you. 

Your mind needs just as much care and nurturing as the rest of your body. Mental health challenges can be related to day to day stressors, a mental illness, life threatening blocks or all of the above. And I’m here to tell you that it’s ok to take a mental health day and offer you my best tips for dealing with the day to to stressors.

If you or someone you know are experiencing significant mental health challenges and/or considering taking life threatening action, please call or text the crisis hotline at 988 or seek help from a trained therapist.

Mental Health and Control

If you know our story, you know that we had a rough time as a family in 2021-22 that found us grasping for answers and unsure how to move forward. It was a very dark time.

I’m not going to go into the whole story, just that it required all of us to dig deep and reflect on how we could best cope with the situation individually and together. What I came to realize is that I had no control over most things in my life.

I had control over how I responded to things, but I didn’t have control over what my kids thought and felt. I had no control over how my husband dealt with situations. I had no control over how anyone else would respond to our situation. All I could control was my own thoughts and actions. And that’s where I focused.

Mental Health Practices

Our dark family experience helped shape my entire coaching practice. So today I want to give you some of my best tips – you can call them mental health exercises – for managing my own mental health and focusing on what I can control. By practicing these regularly, you may need less official mental health days, but you might want to take them anyway.

Stop and Reflect

When life gets a little crazy, my first action is to stop and breathe. This could be for a minute or as part of a longer meditation. Then I challenge the thoughts in my head. Is what I’m thinking true or is it just a story I’m telling myself? Most often it is just a story and then I have the option to change that thought.

As an example, this month is especially busy for us. My youngest son is graduating from high school and graduation activities have filled our calendar. We has at least 4 all day track meets that we enjoy attending. We are moving out of our current home this month a little earlier than we hoped and are packing and downsizing. On top of that, the house is for sale so we need to keep it clean and neat. 

Additionally, I’ve been working on two new offerings for my coaching practice and it’s all coming together this month. And we’re learning that we may need to change our visa strategy for our move to Spain, which adds some additional stress. There are a few other significant things that are on my plate right now, but you get the idea. May is pretty full for me. 

Just last night I was feeling anxious and overwhelmed with everything I need to do.  So I followed my own advice. I stopped and took some deep breaths to settle down. Then I reminded myself that everything will work out as needed on its own time frame. I need to focus only on what I can control.

Mental Health Day and Night

Another practice I enjoy is part of my everyday evening routine. Before bed I write down three things I’m proud of, three things I’m grateful for, and three things I desire.

This allows me to acknowledge what I am accomplishing, to take stock in the good things happening in my life, and identify the things most important right now that allow my brain to get creative overnight. After that exercise, I woke up this morning more calm and with ideas for the things that were blocking me, one of which was how I wanted to write this post.

Get Some Fresh Air

One of my favorite tools for clearing my thoughts and creating a positive perspective is to get outside. Taking a break gives your brain a rest and often allows you to come up with creative solutions to whatever you’re working through. Fresh air has a soothing and exhilarating impact on me. I come up with some of the best ideas on my morning walk with the dog!

Getting outside first thing in the morning has another benefit. The sunlight entering your eyes sends a signal to your brain about when it’s time for sleep. Your brain then plans to start its melatonin production accordingly, supporting better sleep. And you know that being refreshed is positive for mental health.

Anticipation

The last thing I want to talk about is having something to look forward to. If you know anyone who has struggled with suicide ideation or attempted suicide, then you know that having something for them to look forward to is helpful in keeping them going. Even when your mental health is not currently in a state of life or death, having something to look forward to is incredibly beneficial. It adds excitement into your day.

Having something to look forward to gets you out of the monotony and reminds you that you are important. It reinforces that life isn’t all have-to’s. When there is something good waiting for you, you dwell on the challenges less. And then you start to realize that your thoughts are just temporary. 

I encourage you to have something in your routine that you can can look forward to. It could be a weekly game of pickleball, a family vacation or your next chapter. Dreaming about and creating the get-tos is where life gets exciting. I love seeing all of the light bulbs and excitement in my vision workshops when people are given permission to start dreaming again. When they can see, feel and get excited about something new their mental state is positively impacted. If you want to join my next workshop, reach out.

Conclusion

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, chaotic, stuck or just not sure how to move forward I give you permission to take a mental health day. Use that to step out of the chaos or determine what you do next. Not only will you benefit, but the people around you will be gifted with a more positive and hopeful version of you. Everyone deserves that.