A mental health day is a day where you take off of work or school in order to give yourself a break. Life is stressful, even in the best of times. We all forget that it's okay to pause and breathe.
Anxiety is a nasty demon to face daily and so many people suffer in silence.
Thoughts about not being good enough or not having achieved something can swirl through your head at dizzying speeds. It wears down your mind and brings weariness into your life.
Anxiety is mentally exhausting. When you get home at the end of the day, it's so hard to pick something up or go anywhere. An entire day's worth of worrying can bring anyone to their knees.
Taking a mental health day is crucial.
Sometimes, you need a day where you can just relax and think to yourself about all of the things in life you're grateful for. It's a day for you. A day to stop and smell the roses, to take care of the laundry that's been sitting on your bed for a week.
For a lot of people, anxiety arises out of the constant pressure we find ourselves under. The real truth of the matter is that we put ourselves through more than anybody else could put us through. We will always be our biggest critics.
Take this as a national PSA to say that there is no need to be an utter perfectionist. There's a difference between wanting to be the best at what you do and reaching for a level of perfection that doesn't exist.
We are human beings. Imperfectly perfect and flawed, and one of those flaws is anxiety.
It is a perfectly natural feeling to have. Many people all over the world feel anxious every day.
Mental health days are vital because it allows you the rest and peace that you deserve.
Never let a job or school keep you from being mentally healthy. If something were to happen to you, that job would go to someone else and that professor would keep on teaching. There is no reason to make your world revolve around work or school when the world will not stop turning just for you.
Take each new day as an opportunity and breathe.
While deep breathing and all are great to center yourself, that's not a one-stop shop cure-all for anxiety. We'd be fools to think so. Medication to treat anxiety could be the answer that you need.
The moral of this story is that taking days off to treat yourself and have a break, should not make you feel bad. Dealing with anxiety can be hard. It can feel like it will never get better, but you need to remember that there are people and medications out there that can help.
Do yourself a favor and take a mental health day.