Mental health days are quite incredible. They can be so helpful, for not only your mental well-being, but your physical and emotional health as well. There is so much to get from a mental health day, and it’s an incredible choice for you to make, as a student. But, you might be wondering, how can I take a mental health day? It seems difficult – school is greatly time-consuming, and it’s hard to see if anyone will let you take that say. But don’t worry, because this article is for you. Here are the 4 steps to taking the best mental health day for teens.
Step #1 – Find a date
First things first, find a day you want to take off. This decision may differ for you, but it’s typically for similar reasons. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed or burnt out, find a day in the next week or so that would be good to take off. If you know there’s a vacation week coming around, you can try planning your mental health days around that, if you plan on having multiple of these days, make sure to spread them across your schedule in a reasonable way to keep them regular while not being too much.
You should also keep in mind important dates on your calendar, like tests or trips. With more rigorous classes, you might not be able to get away with taking a day off before a major test with no studying. So essentially, make sure the day is one you don’t need to compromise on.
Step #2 – Talk to adults in advance
By adults, I mean your guardians and school authorities. And there are some difficulties there.
You may be lucky, and have very caring and understanding parents who are easy to talk to about these things. Unfortunately, some of you don’t have that luck. So, here is my suggestion for less cooperative parents:
Just tell them the benefits of a mental health day. Many of them might not want you to take off because of school and education. Give them a thorough explanation on how they can actually boost your academic performance, more than just nonstop studying. Use articles, like this article from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) explains how these days impacts school performance, or my article on the reasons you should take a mental health day.
As for school authorities, it all comes down to your school and their rules. If they are lenient with absences and lates, then you’re doing pretty good. If not, it’ll be a little harder to take a mental health day. My suggestion would be to talk to your counselor about this in advance, explaining the reason you want a mental health day and when you’re going to take it. 9 times out 10 they’ll support your decision and help you move along with it.
Sadly, some of you may not get past these parts. Whether it’s your strict parents, or strict school, something might be keeping you from getting that day off. But don’t worry, because that’s only the weekdays. Try your best to find a way to arrange a mental health day on the weekend, so your school isn’t involved and your parents may be more lenient.
Step #3 – Plan your day
So now you’ve got your date, got the “okay” from your parents and school, and are more than ready to have your anticipated mental health day. But you don’t want to sit there wondering what to do on the day of. You just need to start planning ahead of time. If you want some ideas on what to do on your mental health day, check out our article on the 7 best ways to spend your mental health day.
Think about what makes you happy. Is it hanging out with your friends? Playing with your dog? Sitting on the couch and watching TV? Try to get a list of 5-10 activities that truly make you happy, and start planning out your day. You can set times for everything, if you want, or let it be free-flowing with your activity list as a general guide. Your planning process will be different, and that really depends on you. If you prefer structure, you might take the process a lot more in depth, but if structure is what you’re trying to escape, your planning process may be quick and simple. If you sign up for the newsletter, you can receive a PDF mental health day Planner for FREE!
Step #4 – Enjoy your day!
There, you’ve completed all the steps to taking a mental health day. You’ve covered all grounds! Now all you have left to do is experience the greatness of the mental health day you planned for yourself, and enjoy it as much as you can. I hope you love it!
But, before you go, there’s one last thing for me to say. I know a lot of you are busy. You can’t find time to do anything, and taking an entire day off to do “nothing” just seems unrealistic. The thing is, you have to stop thinking taking care of yourself is “nothing”. Don’t see this as a day for you to laze off when you should be grinding for that potential success.
Look at it this way.
This mental health day is incredibly useful to you, and essential in your development towards success. It isn’t a “break” from productivity, instead a step towards increasing it, just in an unconventional way. You know the incredible benefits to having a mental health day, and how much it can improve your abilities. Use that knowledge to change your mindset, and soon, your lifestyle will change along with. You will be so much happier.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, mental health days are nothing short of amazing. They boost your productivity, creativity, and well-being in every way possible. And no matter how impossible it may seem, taking one is definitely within your reach. Don’t skip out on taking a mental health day, just because your parents are against taking days off, or because our schoolwork is rigorous. Don’t get me wrong, education is very important, but tests will come and go. Your mental health, on the other hand, stays forever, and every choice you make impacts it. Let that choice be a mental health day, and without a doubt, you will be left happier than you were before.
