Mental Health Days Are Okay

Those are not my actual words from my therapist but I am an advocate for mental health days. Sometimes it’s just too much to face the world, open your door and expose yourself to environments that may hurt you.

These are the words I told one of the tribe members recently. I told her that if I had a head-on collision and was bandaged from head to toe with internal injuries, this is how folks would treat me. They would not expect me to show up to invites, they would be checking on me, seeing if I needed anything, and bringing their best game of comforting me.

I didn’t have a physical head-on but I did have an emotional and mental head-on. My heart is bandaged, my head is bandaged, my nerve endings are exposed which means I have to guard myself against certain environments and people. This is not a statement for compassion or empathy, it’s a picture I’m painting for those who have never experienced mental health issues on a deep or long-term level.

If we have friends or family that we know is drowning in grief due to a physical loss, a relationship break up, a divorce, job loss, or just a bad time in their life, we should treat them like they have had a physical head-on collision. Support is everything when you are recovering. I believe the support group is your number one source for better days and healing. You can reach out to them when you can’t always see a therapist.

Remember we don’t walk around with t-shirts and hats that state our issues. Folks don’t know what is going on with our grief, pain, depression, anxiety, or just plain bad days. It’s up to us to take care of ourselves and let folks know “not today”. They will wait and so will the world. Love yourself ❤️.