Taking Off Work For Your Mental Health

Right before all of this pandemic/shelter-in-place stuff happened, I had to make a tough decision regarding my job. My mental health was a mess and I was having a hard time functioning at home and at work. I knew I had to address it. I wasn't giving my full 100% to my employer when I was there, and I was calling out with increased frequency due to how I felt. I finally decided that I needed to take some time off. Luckily, I have a very generous and understanding boss so she was fully supportive of me taking some leave. I had been on leave for about two weeks when the shelter-in-place orders were given. During that time I really focused on self-care, did a lot of soul searching and set up a date to start attending a day program at my local mental health facility. I took the steps that I needed to take in order to feel better. It has been about six weeks since I took leave and I do feel like I am getting better but, I still have some work to do. Unfortunately, my day hospital situation fell through due to the coronavirus, but I was able to find a really great therapist that I see weekly for teletherapy sessions. If life was normal, I would consider going back to work.

Making the decision to take leave from work was really tough for me. There is a lot to consider and there is such a stigma around mental health that it feels like it's not a good reason to take off. It feels indulgent and selfish. Well at least it did for me.

Now that we are working from home, things are even more blurry. Can you even take off when you work from home? But the truth is, that if tomorrow came and you woke up with a pounding migraine or a horrible cold, you would have no problem letting your boss know that you are taking the day off to rest and take care of yourself. So why is it so hard to do the same for your mental health? Recent research has found that 49% of people feel like taking a mental health day is something that they cannot do, and only 14% of UK workers say that they can be honest about taking a mental health day.

It's really important to remember that just because you are working from home and don't have to leave the house, doesn't mean that taking a day off won't help you to get the rest and recuperation that you need. Working from home can seriously blur the lines between your work life and your home life. You may find it harder to switch off at the end of your work day. Just as you would take a day off for a terrible cold, taking a mental health day can help you recover from burnout and stress. The most important step is recognizing that you need a mental health day and not feeling guilty about it.

Remember, your mental health is just as important as your physical health, even though your mental health can have more of a long-term effect on you if left untreated. Something like a cold is usually gone within a week, but a mental health condition cannot heal on its own. Treatment is needed to recover.

When thinking about taking a mental health day, you need to figure out if you really just need a day to rest and recharge, or if your issue is ongoing and needs to be addressed in a way so that you don't need to take another mental health day sooner rather than later. That was the situation I found myself in. I knew that things were deep and serious and was going to take more than one day to conquer.

So what are some signs that it might be a good idea for you to take a mental health day?

Thinking about going to work fills you with dread. This is not wishful thinking on a Sunday longing for another day off. This is stomach-turning, shaky hands fear and despair. Maybe your current workload is intense, or you have to deal with snippy or bullying co-workers. If things are bothering you that much that it is having an effect on your mental health, you should for sure take a day off and think about what you can do to change your circumstances in a positive way.

If you are not working well because you are wondering what the point of everything is, or you are too paralyzed to ask for help, or you are making a ton of mistakes that a healthy you wouldn't make, your productivity has slowed to a halt and trying to push through will only make it worse, you could be experiencing burnout. Taking the day off to reset would be beneficial in this case.

If it is going to take longer than one day to address your mental health, you should use your mental health day to come up with a plan and start executing it. That could look like an extended leave, treatment from a medical professional or even hospitalization. You will feel more in control because you are taking the steps necessary to help yourself to get through to the other side.

To sum up, you will feel so much better once you have taken some time for yourself to heal. You and your work will suffer if you continue to ignore your mental health.

And if you are thinking about your unsympathetic boss or strict HR department, know that your employer cannot take action against you for disclosing that you have a mental health condition.

Take the time off. You can and will feel better.