The Importance of Taking a Break
Recently, I was reminded about how important it is for mental health to take a moment for yourself. Leisure, relaxation, and taking a break for yourself is vital to maintaining your mental health. You know the feeling. You wake up, you go to work, and you go home. You cook dinner, eat, and go to bed. Throw in cleaning and running errands, and your days can fill up. This can create a general feeling of malaise. Like you aren’t really accomplishing anything. If you are feeling those summertime blues, it’s likely you’re also struggling with accumulated stress.
What is accumulated stress and how do I deal with it?
Accumulated stress is a lot like how it sounds. Over the course of time, minor stressors add up. Because it happens over such a long period of time, you might not be aware it’s even happening! You might just go through the motions, thinking you can deal with it. You’ve dealt with it before afterall; what’s one more day, or week. It’ll pass, you tell yourself. As the stress adds up, you start to not want to be around other people. You get annoyed more easily and find yourself on edge. This is an all too common issue that a lot of people struggle with, but there are solutions, and one of the biggest is by taking a break.
What does it mean to take a break?
As I said above, leisure is so important! You can take a walk to clear your mind. You can take a nice relaxing drive along the coast. You might even knit, crochet, or go golfing. A friend of mine likes to play pool; one of our therapists enjoys dancing with her girlfriends on weekends. Whatever you can do to give yourself that emotional and mental break, you should! I like to take a dip in the pool, go fishing, or garden. What do you like to do? How do you find time for yourself to give yourself a break and relax?
As odd as it might seem, you have to schedule time off. When you schedule leisure time, it gives your brain permission to shut off and enjoy itself. What’s more, because you schedule the time, you’ll be able to put work aside and enjoy yourself and your leisure time. You not only deserve to take time but you need it to maintain your mental health. You can’t help others until you’ve helped yourself, so do yourself a favor and take a break!
What if I feel like I can’t take rest or take that leisure time because of everything going on?
If you’re struggling with stress and feel like you don’t have enough time to build in leisure activities, you’re not alone! Sometimes, you just need to talk things out with someone. That’s why we’re here to help you. We have qualified therapists and counselors who have extensive experience in helping people deal with the stresses of life. There is a cure for accumulated stress! Feel free to reach out to us for help. We’ll be happy to help guide you in taking back your life.