On occasions I've taken time off in order to recalibrate. It used to be that as an employee with a diagnosed mental-health condition, a sick day did not necessarily represent the flu, physical injury, or menstrual cramps. I'd just succumb to mental fatigue. The signs would be a fed-upness that made me overcast and snappy and I'd become a totally user-unfriendly version of myself, which signalled my need to reduce interactions. My son Jovan would say I was "dark"; I would say nothing–and for long periods. Then about two years ago, my friend Pat Thomas, upon her introduction to the concept, called me and held an animated discussion about the beauty and benefits of a mental-health day. The objective is to de-stress, stress being a factor noted for creating disequilibria and the consequent loss of productivity. Many therapists recommend a planned day as the most effective in order to avoid using the off time slaving on household chores or babysitting, unless of course, that is what you desire.
Some basic guidelines for taking a mental-health day would be:
�2 Choose what makes you relax. A mental-health day does not have to be outdoors, though I strongly recommend the invigorating atmosphere of a beach or resort. If you're the indoor type you can make a date with a book or movie that you've been putting off
�2 Switch off. If you must, allocate a half-hour to e-mails and necessary calls and then switch off all electronic contacts
�2 Bag your guilt. Pat had to learn not to be guilted out being away from work when she wasn't experiencing visible infirmity of the body. Hopefully, she is now better convinced that frailty of the mind is the catalyst for all other complications and she's doing a better job at taking off.
There are many other options for spending your day, such as a hairdresser's visit, going to the movies, lunching out at a new restaurant or whatever you think can give you pleasure and help you regain your balance. For some, decluttering a space in the home, painting a room or even simply changing all window treatments and bedding can offer pleasure, which increases the happy hormones required for balance. For others, extra sleep or a workout at the gym or the pool may suffice and may just do the trick of refuelling the body's machinery. Notably, people mostly want to spend this day away from peers, friends, and relatives but there is no law against spending it with anyone from this group if he/she is not associated with the need for de-stressing. Employers do not readily understand this terminology either, so for now it may be prudent to request a casual or vacation day.
Where these are not available, one may have to consider using a sick-leave day. While it is crucial to plan for a successful day, it's also quite possible to have an impulsive one and reap equal or greater benefits. Recently, I was impelled to employ one of those. And if you encounter a vexatious situation, like my past few weeks, then you too would take off for an unplanned mental day. After many days of frustration and just when I thought I had hired a someone who needed and wanted to work, he appeared on the third of the agreed three days at around 9.30 am to say the "fella would have to find somebody to work with him because..." This came after a truncated second day and a first day of enough ole talk for a comedy festival's feature act. And I–malfunctioning with angst created by too much imbroglio on a small project–tried communicating as succinctly as possible that I'd heard enough.
He insisted on continuing his monologue half an hour later as I left my home and had the impertinence to loudly declare, with the authority of one who had carefully estimated a liaison with me, and in the presence of others, "Girl, you real ignorant, boy!" I quickly silenced the criticism with a return volley of uncalculated severity, which possibly suspended all work in my village (the damage was bad!). Then I got into my car, drove from Moruga to Penal, bought a roti and bottled water and continued driving, stopping once to ask directions, until I "discovered" Quinam Beach. There I breezed with on-duty lifeguards Wendell, Anil and Analdo, who come from Maracas and Mayaro every day to a beach "behind God's back" to do their job. All my day's plans were discarded– but I'm a much better person today for having abandoned everything and everyone.