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Mental Health

3 signs you might need to take a mental health day and how to talk to your employer about it

Mental health days can be very good for business.

Cliff Booth|Canva and Silviarita|Canva

3 signs you might need to take a mental health day from work

People are starting to take their mental health more seriously and utilizing mental health day. Some companies have even started offering mental health days for their employees on top of their regular sick and vacation days to ensure their employees needs are met. But how do you know it may be time to take a mental health day before you're burned out completely?

One of the coolest things about our bodies is that it gives us cues on what it needs. We're used to the loud physical cues like a grumbling tummy that lets you know it's time to eat or excessive yawning and dry eyes that tell you its time to sleep. But there are other cues that we have either overlooked or haven't quite learned to recognize what our body is trying to tell us and those have to do with needing a mental health break.

When we think of our mental health, we don't often think about the physical symptoms that can be a precursor to emotional symptoms. It's the emotional symptoms that generally get our attention that say something may be bothering us, but our bodies give us clues. Maybe we should listen a bit more closely.

1. You're always tired.

It doesn't seem to matter how much sleep you got the night before, as soon as you get to work, you're exhausted. All you can think about is going home and crawling back in bed. But when your shift is over, suddenly your energy rebounds and you feel like you can do everything you want to do.

2. Frequent headaches

It's normal to get a headache every once in a while but for some reason you seem to only get them when you're either at work, thinking about work or are getting ready to go to work. Could it be that work is giving you the headache? Possibly. Instead of stocking up on Aleve, you might just need a staycation for a couple of days to reset.

3. Muscle pain

For some reason your shoulders, neck and jaw muscles are always tight and you can't figure out why. You try working the knots out yourself and even trade shoulder massages with your officemate but it keeps coming back. It could be tension that you're carrying from work. Our shoulders, necks and jaws are places that tend to hold a lot of our tension so if you're noticing constant muscle tightness in those areas while at work, it's probably time to check in with yourself.

Of course, many of us ignore these physical symptoms of stress and push through, which can cause us to be more curt, snippy, easily irritated and flustered. Once you surpass the obvious symptoms that often feel like undue irritation, we can then slide into crying on breaks, heightened anxiety, feelings of depression, and more. Unfortunately, many people wait until they reach the more disruptive stages before recognizing they need to take a mental health break.

Now that you know the symptoms, how do you ask for a break? If you're not working for yourself, chances are you're reporting to a boss of some sort and will need to disclose you'd like to take a mental health break. If don't work for a company that offers them, you can send an email or ask for a meeting.

You could say something along the lines of, "I'm really invested in the success of the company and my role within in it. In order for me to continue being successful and showing up at my best, I'd like to take two days off next week to focus on my mental health and recharging my battery."

Depending on your company policy, you may need to give more notice. If it's an emergent mental health situation it's always best practice to be candid about your needs without disclosing an excessive amount of unneeded information.

This article was written by Jacalyn Wetzel, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and practicing therapist.

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Woman shows moments leading up to her suicide attempt as a jarring reminder to everyone

Reach out to check on your people.

Brie Johnson|TikTok

Woman's video before her suicide attempt is a reminder to everyone.

Editor's Note: This story discusses suicide. If you are having thoughts about taking your own life or know of anyone who is in need of help, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a United States-based suicide prevention network of over 200+ crisis centers that provides 24/7 service via a toll-free hotline with the number 9-8-8. It is available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.

Not all depression looks the same. Sometimes people don't even realize they're depressed for a long time while others go to great lengths to appear okay to the outside world. People who have functional depression—who still go to work, spend time with friends and look to be enjoying life—may not seem depressed to those closest to them.

This kind of masking can be done for many reasons, but a lot of times, it's because they don't want other people to worry about them. But this could mean suicidal thoughts go unnoticed by loved ones. When people appear happy or as if they're handling everything well, others are much less likely to check in on them.

When Brie Johnson uploaded a video with a quote that reads, "You can always tell when someone is going to attempt," the happy videos and pictures that followed contrasted the reality of her attempting suicide.

Johnson, who's a staff sergeant in the Air Force and mother of one, posted the short video in March with the caption, "Check up on your loved ones. It's not always obvious." This is a sentiment that has been expressed by people repeatedly with a widely shared graphic that reminds people to check on their strong friends—the sentiment being that when people appear to be handling things well, no one checks in to make sure they're actually doing okay.

Johnson's video is a harsh reminder that not every smiling face is conveying joy. Sometimes smiles and laughter are just a mask. So how are people supposed to know when someone is truly struggling when their outward behaviors seem to show everything is fine?

@itsbriej

Check up on your loved ones. It’s not always obvious #fyp #SeeHerGreatness #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #recovery #survivor #awareness #love #miltok #foryou

Knowing when to reach out can be tricky, but there can be subtle signs that may easily be missed. Social media posts may change subtly, like broadly asking for prayers frequently when they haven't been in the habit of doing that. Some people may post memes that are either sad or borderline dark humor when those may be out of the ordinary. There could be a lack of care around how much alcohol or drugs they're taking.

Someone who's normally outgoing canceling plans more frequently than usual. Making jokes about death or suicide when it's not a normal conversation for them. A friend who's struggling may ask you about your final plans so they can bring up theirs without raising alarms.

These are all things that can be easily overlooked if you don't know what to look for. But one of the best indicators that you need to reach out is any change, no matter how subtle, that makes you ask the question, "I wonder what's going on with them?" So many times we ignore the tiny alarm bells that go off in our bellies because we're on the lookout for the bigger, louder alarm bells. The tiny alarms are just as important. Now how do you reach out?

Several years ago, I noticed a subtle change in a friend's social media statuses that activated my tiny alarm bells. After waiting about a week or so to see if things went back to normal, I reached out. Never having spoken to this person outside of the comments section in our online running community, I wasn't sure how she would respond. But I sent a message that said something along the lines of, "I just wanted to do a check in with you. I noticed a change in your posts and I wanted you to know that I'm here if you need to talk."

They responded that there were struggling with something pretty big that no one knew about. We spoke on the phone for a couple of hours with me mostly listening. They thanked me about a year later for seeing them when they felt no one else did.

Reaching out doesn't have to be complicated, so try not to overthink it. A lot of times all it takes is genuinely asking how someone is doing and informing them that you want the real answer, not something surface. Then, just listen without judgment and without unsolicited advice or commentary. Ask them what they need and follow through. Human connection, along with the reminder that you matter, can go a long way.

This article was written by Jacalyn Wetzel, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and practicing therapist.

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Clinical psychologist lists signs that mean it’s time to seek mental health help

In the end, wanting or needing someone to talk to is just as good as any other reason.

Dr. Julie|TikTok

Psychologist lists signs it's time to seek mental health care.

Knowing when to seek mental health care is not always as cut and dry as people may believe. Many people wrestle with whether or not they should speak to a therapist, psychiatrist or even their primary care physician about their struggles. Working in mental health, it often comes up that people minimize their own struggles with the thought that someone else has it worse so they shouldn't be struggling.

This may cause people to second guess when exactly they need to seek help. Dr. Julie, a clinical psychologist, posted a video on her TikTok page in order to help people figure out when they should seriously consider going to see a therapist. Some people may be surprised by the signals that indicate a need for therapy.

In the video, which has over 33k likes, Dr. Julie acts out different scenarios without speaking as what she's experiencing in those moments floats above her head in text overlay.

One of the very first signs that someone should consider therapy is, "Nothing seems to help and you're starting to feel hopeless." Hopelessness can be an indicator of depression, especially if it's paired with other things like not finding joy in things that used to make you happy or sleeping more often.

Another sign that Dr. Julie displayed on the screen was, "Your mood changes have persisted for several weeks or more." Again, barring a major life event like the loss of a loved one where feeling down is expected, this can signal depression. But what's most important to know is that any time you feel concerned about your mental health, you can seek therapy.

Therapy isn't something to be ashamed of or reserved for people who live with severe mental illnesses. In fact, you could simply need an unbiased perspective, want to gain tools for moments of stress or be experiencing a life change like a breakup. As a therapist myself, I want people to know that you don't have to be in distress to seek out therapy. Going for mental health maintenance is a perfectly acceptable reason.

Check out Dr. Julie's video below:

@drjuliesmith

Seek help any time you are concerned about your #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthsupport #psychologist

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Therapist breaks down where panic attacks come from and how to try to get them under control

The term "panic attack" has been misused online.

Dr. Julie|YouTube

Therapist explains panic attacks and how to control them.

It seems since therapy has become more acceptable to talk about, people are becoming more open about their mental health challenges. But there's also been an increase in self-diagnosis, which in some cases can be helpful, while in others can lead to a bit of misinformation.

Self-diagnoses have also caused confusion around anxiety and panic attacks. That's where Dr. Julie Smith comes in. Smith, a clinical psychologist, takes the time to differentiate between anxiety, anxiety attacks and panic attacks. (Psst...anxiety attacks aren't a thing. It's a misunderstanding around the term, and Smith does a great job sifting through the use of the term.)

"An anxiety attack is a term that's being used more and more online and on social media, often to mean slightly different things," Smith says. "And the reason for that is because it's not a clinical disorder or a diagnosis, so it's not a term that's recognized or used by professionals to mean anything in particular."

Due to the misinformation on social media, Smith says she sees it used a lot to mean the build-up of anxiety before an event, which is not the same as a panic attack.

"A panic attack is this abrupt surge of intense fear and discomfort that reaches a peak within minutes, and then during that time, you experience a range of intense symptoms," Smith explains. "So while you can be in a pretty high state of anxiety, a panic attack is where that anxiety really peaks to such an intensity and the symptoms are so intense, you start to think you might be dying or you could be completely losing control."

Smith breaks panic attacks down even further, providing a visual chart to show the circular existence of panic attacks in some people. She also explains how to try to get them under control and when to call a doctor in the video below.

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