In case you need to be reminded, you are not a robot.
I know, youre likely like, Girl, I knew that already. Last period I checked, my body wasnt made of metal, and I can feel feelings and have thoughts and stuff.
Well, if you youre not a robot, you should probably stop acting like one.
In 2015, over half of American workers left part of their vacation time unused, adding up to a total of 658 million unused days.
Yeah, let that shit sink in for a moment.
Clearly, somewhere along the way, weve managed to normalize the idea of not taking time off for ourselves, even though we have the ability to do so.
Dr. Adam Perlman, executive director of Duke Integrative Medicine, told CNN,
We try to convince ourselves that impression overwhelmed and stressed out and not having time to take a day off is normal but its not normal.
Its simply your reality at that moment.
If you didnt already know, May is Mental Health Awareness Month. So what better time to take a mental health day than literally right now?
If you do decide to take one, here are 10 ways to attain the most of your mental health issues day.
1. Turn off any notifications pertaining to work.
I dont know about you, but even when I take a well-deserved mental health issues day, a little part of me continues to feel guilty about it, and that guilt is usually activated by something as mundane as a work-related email.
As long as youre scheming your mental health issues days at least somewhat in advance, you are able to make sure youre not taking time off during a critical time at work, when your absence might mail co-workers into a panic.
This time is for. The world will not stop turning simply because you took 24 hours to respond to a project email.
2. Explore your neighborhood.
Chances are, “youre supposed to” dont know very much about the field you live in.
Or, at the very least, there are places in your neighborhood youve always wanted to visit, but simply never had the time to do so.
Im talking a park youve never been to before( bonus phases if its a dog park ), an antique store, a thrift storage, a small, privately owned bookstore, or that hole-in-the-wall restaurant that emanates a delicious, drool-worthy smelling every time you walk past it.
The world is literally your oyster on a mental health issues day.
3. Clean your apartment.
I know this one doesnt sound fun atfirst, but hear me out.
First of all, isnt it more annoying to try to squeezing cleaning time in on the weekends, or in the few hours you have to yourself after a long day at work?
Second of all, when you take a mental health issues day in the middle of the week, youre most likely going to have the house to yourself.
Strip down to your underwear, crank your favorite music up as loud as you want and get to work.
I promise you, cleaning is a billion times more fun when you are able to feign youre also performing onstage with Beyonc at the same time.
4. Run to an adoption shelter, simply because.
Pet all the furry children you want, even if you have no aim of adopting a pet anytime soon.
But, who knows? Even if you dont inevitably walk into the shelter with a plan to adopt, perhaps youll actually walk out of there with a new little forever friend.
5. Read something for pleasure.
Whether its a magazine you like, a novel you havent get around to, or even some interesting articles that have been compiling dust in your Bookmarks tab , nows the time to treat your brain with something you actually to read.
6. Clean out your music library.
Were all guilty of skipping ballad after ballad after ballad when we have our music libraries on shuffle.
It may not seem like it at first, but taking the time to organize your music seems beyond amazing.
Plus, you can finally take your time crafting some perfect, much-needed playlists.
7. Cook something you ordinarily wouldnt.
Personally, I love to cook, but I detest how long the process can take, especially after a long day at work.
If youve been itching to tackle a tough recipe for awhile now, go out to the grocery store, pick up all the ingredients youll want and get to it.
I actually recommend cooking something, if youre as obsessed with desserts as I am. Banana chocolate chip muffins are absolutely delicious, and theyre super easy to make.
8. Visit someone you havent seen in awhile.
It could be a relative who lives nearby, or an age-old college pal who happens to live simply a subway stop away from you.
I have tons of friends who mainly freelance for project, so our project/ weekend schedules hardly ever line up. A mental health issues day is the perfect time to finally go and catch up a little.
9. Avoid social media as much as possible.
It is easy to get sucked into a social media vortex when you have nothing else to do all day.
Sure, you are able to scroll through your Instagram feed every few hours or so, but dont let yourself get into that soul-sucking habit of switching between Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and repeat.
If you have to, you are able to even become your telephone off for a few hours at a time to cut down on the temptation.
10. Write a letter to your past self.
It audios cheesy, but I candidly swear by this.
Ive done it a few times myself, and its a great way to gain some view on where youve been, where you are now and where youll be going.
Read more here: http :// www.elitedaily.com
