You Need a Mental Health Break
4 min read
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You Need a Mental Health Break
Everyone needs a break sometime, but in today’s busy world that’s more and more difficult to do. The truth is, however, that failing to give yourself a break can have potentially harmful health consequences. So here is some information from LISHN about giving yourself the mental health break that you need and deserve.
What Is a Mental Health Break?
According to Design.org, a mental health break is anything that allows you to step back, relax, and recharge your mind. It can mean different things for different people and can last anywhere from ten minutes to ten days or more. Ideally, it will be a little of each. Frequent breaks throughout the day and a plan for getting away for a longer period to reset and recharge.
How Do You Know You Need a Mental Health Break?
- You feel stressed all the time
- You’re not able to fall asleep or have trouble staying asleep
- You have trouble focusing
- You’re irritable and complain often about trivial things
- You begin to avoid people
How Do You Take a Mental Health Break?
Your own idea of what that break might look like can be very different from the person next to you, but here we share some ideas that you might like or that will stimulate your imagination to create your own:
Go outside and play. That’s right, go play. Find something fun from your childhood. Try tying a tire to a tree and swinging. Splash in some puddles. Get some chalk and a stone and make a hopscotch pattern to jump in. Whatever fond memories you have of your childhood, try to recreate them.
Grab some binoculars and go bird-watching. Or, use your phone’s camera and take photos of as many varieties as you can. Then get a book or go online and see if you can identify them. You’ll be occupied with an easy task while enjoying being outdoors.
Purchase some home goods, such as kitchen gadgets, to make your life less stressful at home. Be sure to read unbiased reviews of your prospective purchases first. There are many products available, and spending money on something you won’t use is more stress you don’t want or need.
If it’s a day when the sky is filled with white clouds, spread a blanket on the ground and try to sketch whatever objects you make out those clouds to be. You don’t have to draw well, just allow your imagination to take over. The more you sketch, the more you’ll find your eye being able to identify more and more patterns.
Go on a treasure hunt in your own home. Find a place where you’ve allowed clutter to accumulate like a closet or the garage. Clutter in itself creates stress and anxiety, so you’ll want to get it tidied up, anyway. Making it a treasure hunt, like you’re organizing an archeological dig site and noting all the finds can make a tedious chore actually a fun break.
Treat yourself to a trip to the ballpark with tickets for the Yankees. Spending an afternoon relaxing and taking in a game is a great way to destress. There are plenty of tickets available at reasonable prices, and you can even preview your seat to find the best views.
Learn something new. Find a language program on your phone, or visit the local music shop and inquire about lessons for some instrument you’ve always wanted to try. They’ll probably give you a practice room to try out some different ones to see if any of them suit you.
Or look into getting or furthering your degree. You can find several online degree programs, Just be sure the one you decide on is accredited. Research has shown that people who study online actually outperform those who learn in person and you’ll be creating a better future for yourself, which is a nice long-term mental health outcome.
Start your own non-profit organization. Research all the ways you can turn your passion for something important to you into something that can really make a difference. It’s not difficult to do as long as you have all the proper paperwork and have a legitimate stated aim. And if you file as a non-profit organization, you can even apply for grants and funding.
Summary
We often worry that taking a break means not getting things done that we feel are important. However, when you realize that you are actually more productive and energized after taking a break, you understand its value and can go out and do the things you need to do to recharge without feeling any guilt at all.
