You might be hearing a lot about mental health days, and if you’ve been following us here, you already know a lot about them. You know how mental health days impact your mental health, and the step-by-step instructions to taking them. But, you might be wondering, when exactly should I take them? How do I know I’m in need of a mental health day, and what are some things I should look out for? It’s hard to be so attentive to our mental health when there are so many other things going on, and it can be hard to figure out whether you are temporarily stressed or in need of mental health. Well, here are 5 signs you need a mental health day as a teen.
#1 : You’re Experiencing Burnout
Burnout is an unfortunately common phenomena in today’s society. The hustle culture of much of our lives makes all of us very susceptible to burnout. But what exactly is it? Burnout is complete exhaustion of energy, typically after too many stresses from before. It is growing more common in society because of the constant working of everyone, not only with workers, but us students as well.
If you think you’re experiencing burnout, here are some signs to look out for:
- Feeling tired and exhausted a lot more than usual
- Losing motivation and enthusiasm to do your work
- Alienating yourself from your peers and the rest of your environment
- Constant negativity in your mentality, like feeling helpless and like a failure
Seems a little familiar, doesn’t it? Well, symptoms of burnout due tend to overlap with those of depression, especially depression in its earlier stages. Burnout isn’t just something that you’ll get over soon without help. If you are experiencing burnout, it is crucial you try to treat it as quickly as possible, and one way to treat it is through a mental health day.
#2 : You’re Having Major Mood Swings
Mood swings are normal during teenage-hood, but too much might be a problem. Mood swings are a common symptom of lack of sleep, overworking, and stress, which all may be something you’re experiencing in your life. While it’s okay to feel moody every now and then, constantly feeling irrational is not good, and it’s about time to give yourself a mental reset with a mental health day. But how do you know if you’re having some mood swings? Here are some signs to look out for:
- You snap at people around when you are not mad at them
- You get frustrated by small things
- You often feel overwhelmed with emotion
- You start crying easily
- Your emotions can switch quickly at the smallest of changes
If you are currently resonating with any of these points, it might be a good idea to take a step back and understand what is going to be good for you right now. Mood swings are a certain sign you need to take mental health, for both your sake and that of the people around you.
#3 : You’re Unproductive
Overworking yourself is horrible for your mental health, but also bad for what you’re overworking yourself for. Doing too much will make you less productive, because your brain will be overwhelmed with information and drained of any creativity that will help you finish work faster. Well, how do you know if you’re really being unproductive as a product of overworking? Here are some questions to ask yourself.
- Am I unable to understand simple concepts that make you take longer with your work?
- Am I working well into the night to finish my work everyday, even with no other significant extracurricular activities?
- Am I very tired and unable to do activities with the same energy I was able to previously?
- Are my grades dropping despite working hard and studying a lot?
If these are any signs you are experiencing, it might be time to reconsider your approach to your lifestyle. If you feel you’re getting worse even while working hard, working harder isn’t the answer. You have to take a day to relax and reset, so a good mental health day would be just what you need.
#4 : You’re Practicing Unhealthy Habits
Plenty of unhealthy habits come out of stressful lifestyles. They may seem easier to do with the amount of work, or you may feel forced to participate in them to get through the day. Either way, they are unhealthy, and you need to change them. What makes it worse, is that these habits can add up, and overworking itself has been proven to cause far major health conditions, like heart disease and stroke. Here are some unhealthy habits you may be participating in:
- Not getting at least 8 hours of sleep
- Eating junk and fast food for a significant portion of your meals
- Eating to little or too much
- Not getting regular exercise or physical activity
- Not going outside
Yes, majority of the time, you know you’re not doing these things when you should. You just feel like there is no time for you to get your head out of your work and be able to have a healthier lifestyle. Take this as one of the signs you need a mental health day. You can use this day to start practicing healthier habits, and create a schedule so that they will last in the long run.
#5 : You Don’t Have Time for What You Like
Doing what you love is what life’s about. No one is living your life but you, and it’s up to you to make the most out of it. However, the stress of our modern day lifestyle makes it feel like life is nothing but work. There aren’t enough hours in the day for you to actually do what you enjoy.
This is one of the many signs you need a mental health day. Let yourself free of your stressful lifestyle to allow yourself to do what you really want to do. What that might be just depends on you. You can read, write or draw. You could even try something new, like learning to crochet or try a new dance you’ve wanted to do. Your enjoyment is the only focus, and if it’s something you can’t do in your normal day-to-day life, take a mental health day to do it.
Conclusion
Mental health days are something we all think we don’t need, but these signs can tell you otherwise. Our modern culture, both at work and in school, is very detrimental to our mental health, and we all need some time to decompress and refresh ourselves to truly enjoy life. So many of these signs have been normalized in our society, as a way to cope with the fact that our mental health is pretty bad. It doesn’t matter how “normal” these signs may seem to you, because they are still very bad for your mental health. Take action to protect your mental wellbeing, and plan out the mental health day you mind has been waiting for!
