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Sometimes we get sick. Most of the time we can press forward with things that need to get done, even though our productivity is decreased. Every once in a while though, we need to rest, sometimes see a doctor, and take care of ourselves so we can get better. Once we are better, we feel energized and can be as productive as we were before getting sick.

Sick days are good to have. I think that most of the time when we think of taking sick days we mean physical sickness. What about mental illness? Even though when most of us think about mental illness, we think about a long-term condition that is debilitating. It is true that some mental illnesses are, just like some physical illnesses. There are some mental illnesses that are more temporary that impact our productivity just like physical illnesses. Like physical illnesses, most of the time we can work through them, and but sometimes they require us to take care of ourselves, rest, and recuperate so that we can again be as productive as before the illness set in.

About a month ago, my youngest son was having a difficult morning. He was really stressed out to the point of tears. We decided that he needed to take a sick day, a mental health day, to relax and recuperate. He didn’t sit around all day. This may have taken his mind off things, but in the long run, doing nothing often causes us to worry about our stresses or make us feel even worse. Instead, he read, we talked about things, and by the afternoon he was feeling much better.

There is no doubt that there is a stigma still associated with mental health. I think we would probably be more apt to take a sick day to increase our physical health while it wouldn’t even cross our minds to take one to increase our mental health. Both are equally important not only for productivity, but for balance, health, and contentment.

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