The Best Thing You Can Do When It’s Raining: Take a Mental Health Day
Why you need to take mental health days more often.
You’re having one of those days. The kind where it feels like the world is against you and nothing is going your way. You wake up feeling exhausted, like you’ve been run over by a truck.
You try to get out of bed, but the sheets are like lead weights holding you down. It’s hard to breathe and all you want to do is curl up in a ball and disappear.
You finally manage to get out of bed and make your way to the bathroom, but even that feels like a marathon. In an attempt to wake up, you splash some cold water on your face, but it doesn’t help.
You look in the mirror and barely recognize the person looking back at you. Black circles shine under your eyes making you look like a deranged raccoon. You look like you’ve aged years in a matter of days.
As you make your to the kitchen, even the thought of food makes you nauseous. You manage to force down a few bites, but it feels like rocks in your stomach. Too tired to make it back to bed, you drag yourself to the couch.
“The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Take a Day
Maybe if you can just sleep for a few hours, you’ll feel better when you wake up. But even that seems like too much effort. Your mind won’t shut off and the racing thoughts are keeping you awake. You try to distract yourself by watching TV, but even that is too much stimulation. You turn it off and close your eyes, trying to block out the world.
It feels like you’re swimming in quicksand. No matter how hard you fight, you can’t seem to find your way out. The darkness is closing in and you feel like you’re about to drown.
Your only option is to take a mental health day.
It’s a topic people rarely talk about, but it’s important to know that mental health days are a real thing. And if you live with a mental illness, they’re an escape you’re going to need from time to time.
If possible, you should take a mental health day when everything feels like too much effort. When the world is against you and nothing is going your way. When it feels like you’re swimming in cement and you can’t find your way out.
Bad Days Pass
Those days are tough, but it’s vital to remember they’re only temporary. They will pass and you will get through them. The most important thing you can do on those days is to take care of yourself.
That means giving yourself permission to rest. To sleep if you can or just to take it easy if you can’t. It means eating even if you don’t feel like it. It means doing things that make you happy, even if it’s just for a few minutes.
It might not seem like it, but those things will make a difference. They will help you get through the day and they will help you get through the next one.
So if you’re having one of those days, just remember that it’s OK. It’s not forever and you will get through it. The best thing you can do today is take care of yourself. And tomorrow, things will be better.
Get Your Pen Out
Explore taking breaks with these writing prompts.
Journal Prompt: When did you last take a mental health day? How did the break make you feel better? Do you need to take another one soon?
Creative Writing Prompt: Burned out from a soul-killing job, your character decides to skip work for a day of fun. Write a story about their day including an accidental meeting with their boss.
Until next time, keep fighting.
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