Signs to Take a Mental Health Break and How to Recharge Yourself

Statistics show that 1 in 5 adults has a mental health disorder. Therefore, it is way more important than ever to focus on mental health at work and in personal life. It’s important to understand mental health and its effects on our social and financial life.

People are reluctant to share their mental health at the workplace or in social gatherings. It does not matter if you have a mental illness or just need a mental health break due to work overload or anything stressful in your personal life.

Only you can fix this, and if you feel like you cannot handle more than this, your stress level is already at its peak; you should take a step back to reset your mental health.

What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.– Glenn Close

When is absolutely necessary to take a mental health break?

Here are the top signs of putting everything on hold and focusing on taking a mental health break.

1- You can’t sleep

Lack of sleep is one of the top reasons to take a mental health break. Overworking your brain can create so many complications both mentally and physically.

You feel exhausted all the time and due to severe exhaustion, you cannot sleep even if you want to sleep, but you need to sleep to reset your mental powers.

The part of the brain that interprets our thoughts, feelings, and impulses is particularly sensitive to the impact of sleep.— Alicia Clark

We know that an average person needs 7+ hours of sleep to function properly on daily basis. But when you constantly overwork, your stress level increases, which can cause you to develop insomnia — a disease to have a hard time sleeping or getting a night of quality sleep. Here is one of my favorite books to read on Why We Sleep by Dr. Matthew Walker (Amazon affiliate link).

How to fix it:

Relax, take a deep breath and focus on what is not important vs. urgent. While focusing on critical tasks and delaying the not-important, you can get more time to relax, leading us to sleep.

When you are facing sleep deprivation, I would recommend putting everything on hold and prioritizing your mental health. Take a long walk, or go for a hike; nature always puts you back in a great mood and relaxes your brain. You can simply call in sick and take the day off; most companies have mental wellness time off and utilize mental health days.

The best cure for insomnia is to get a lot of sleep.–W. C. Fields

2- You can’t focus

Your stress levels skyrocket when there is so much on your plate, and you cannot focus on getting it done.

Stress plays an important role in several types of chronic health problems — especially cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and psychological disorders.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

How to fix it?

Always ask for help when you have too much to handle at work or in your personal life. It’s great to be a top employee; but, it’s imperative to take mental breaks to relax your brain.

As soon as you feel it’s overwhelming, it’s time to take a mental break. Always set countable tasks; don’t underestimate the time you need to put into completing the assignments.

For example, a brilliant lady, one of my colleagues, worked almost non-stop, getting almost all the awards at work; everyone was happy with her. One day, she mentioned that she had been having difficulty focusing for the past couple of weeks over a lunch break.

Is something wrong with me?

I asked where did you go on vacation this year or when you took time off last time? She replied that she never took a day off. She even worked after scheduled work hours.

As a friend, I said to take a couple of weeks off before seeing a physician in case there is anything more serious. After a couple of weeks, she returned with more energy and suggested that taking time off for mental health for her own well-being was the best decision she made to get close to family and regain her mental health.

3- Your relationships are suffering

I believe 100% if you are not in great health both mentally and physically; it disturbs your and your loved ones’ lives. When you work all the time and almost neglect the people around you, family and friends, it leads us to loneliness which causes us to feel empty from the inner side.

Social connection is a strong part of our lives, as we can see mental health problems increase amid pandemics. Because people are unable to travel, meet friends, and have restrictions on social gatherings.

If you feel loneliness, then this is another strong sign to take care of your mental health if not, then it can lead to more serious consequences

How to fix it?

Always prioritize your family and friends. In my personal opinion, you can find another job that may be better than your current one and even if you lose your job a family is there to comfort you. My personal mantra is to focus on health first, then family, then career. Balance is the key to staying mentally happy.

When you are caught up with a huge project or working a lot, take time off to spend with your family and friends to recharge yourself. Never ever miss your family functions because of job commitments.

Try to find a way to prioritize family commitments first, then anything else. In the end, you are helping yourself to keep your mental health top-notch.

spend time with loved ones or engage in relaxing activities such as massage, yoga, deep breathing, or meditation can reduce anxiety and help improve your performance when you return to work — Byrne

4 — You keep getting sick almost every single day

In the long run, long hours at work will hurt your body. We can easily see the short-term benefits of working overtime, which can benefit both personal and professional life. As soon as the stress level increases or takes a toll on your physical health, it’s paramount to take a break.

How to fix it?

First, accept that you are working overtime, and that is why you are not getting enough time to relax, which causes us to get sick. As I mentioned above, take a day or even a week off to regain your mental health.

Take baby steps and handle the situation one step at a time. Once you find the core cause of the physical health, then write it down and come back with a concrete action plan to execute it.

5. You feel like you are in slow motion

After guzzling multiple cups of coffee every day, if you feel that is the only solution to have a productive week, it’s time to check your mental health. There is no doubt that the need to take multiple coffee cups just makes you sluggish over time.

How to fix it?

The easiest solution is to step away from caffeine. Drink as much water as you can at home after taking the day off to reset your system. Taking time off from work to relax while eating a healthy balanced diet more leaves than running to a coffee room will help you increase your mental health.

Consuming too many caffeinated beverages and too little water leads to your body getting dehydrated. — Clark

Key takeaways

• Sleep at least 7–8 hours a day
• Take time off from work to relax
• Spend time with family and friends
• Stay active, try to walk or hike in nature
• Drink more water and stay away from caffeine

Note: If the mental health day or even a week is not doing the magic to get back mental health, it’s time to knock hard on your physician’s door. Sometimes the damage has done too much that a day off or week doesn’t do the trick, always seek professional help to stay healthy.

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