Today is World Mental Health Day and while I haven’t spoken too much about my mental health journey, today I am talking about something that has affected me recently and what really made me consider my own mental health.
A few weeks ago I called into work to take the day off. I wasn’t sick in the traditional sense, but I still needed that day.
The night before had not been a good one and I ended up having the worst panic attack I had ever had. This caused me to be up a lot later than I planned on and I subsequently had a horrible nights sleep. When my alarm went off at 5am I immediately knew that I wasn’t in a good place. My brain was still in a fog and even though I wasn’t physically sick, I felt as if I was.
So I called in.
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health and that means that just as you would take a day off if you are sick, you deserve to take that day for your mental health as well.
With a few more hours of sleep under my belt, and the knowledge that I didn’t have specific responsibilities for that day I was able to rest and heal my mind and by the end of the day I was back to my regular self again.
I have a few different types of self care that I tend to gravitate towards such as taking a bath, reading a book, and lighting candles, but today my main goal was just knowing that I could take the time for myself.
I am fortunate to have a job that lets me take sick days, but in that moment when I decided that my mental health was worth taking a step back and giving it the rest that it needed I knew that it was worth that day.
Anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues are something that affects 1 in 5 Canadians a year and is not something that should be minimized or swept under the rug. It is important that we talk about the struggles that we are having and to let people know that they are not alone.
We take medicine and rest when we feel that our body is telling us we need it, but don’t forget to take that time off for your mind as well.
fivestarredlife.ca 
YES! I love this post! Giving our minds the rest and recuperation they need is just as important (if not more important) as physical rest! Thank you for sharing.
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