Everyone has been in need of a "mental health day", whether that means sleeping all day or watching Netflix on your couch or spending time laughing with your best friends or a long car ride or even eating all those feelings out- you have to take care of yourself mentally. Everyone has been pushed to that breaking point where they've hit their stress capacity and they truly can't take anymore... and this is okay. Your mental health matters more than you think.
As a psychology major, I may seem biased, but your brain is ultimately the most important organ in your body. If an individual is declared brain dead, in most occasions all other means of life support are cut off as a person just can't have a life worth living without the function of their brain. When someone breaks a bone or gets any other physical injury, they're never accused of being dramatic or accused of faking it. However, when someone needs to take a mental health day, its not looked at as a legitimate excuse even though it absolutely is.
People who suffer from things like anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, etc., have different brain maps than those who fortunately don't suffer from these. And of course people who haven't been diagnosed with these still have those days where they feel anxious or they get mood swings or days where they feel so depressed that their bed seems impossible to leave- and all of these feelings are reasonable and they matter. Mental disorders are like living with a constant weight sitting on your chest everyday, and you're always your toughest critic. You feel over-dramatic or you feel pathetic so you push all those feelings away when in reality you deserve to go easy on yourself and coddle yourself when you feel you need it most- and that does not make you pathetic. There is no easy way or cure for mental disorders like there is for a broken bone.
You go through it everyday and see tons of people and you have absolutely no idea what they're dealing with on the inside. You can't see mental disorders; you can only pick up the signs. So realize when the people in your life need your support most. Be their shoulder to cry on, listen to their feelings and understand that they have every single right to feel however they want to- and you are in no position to judge them.
Stress burn out and mental break downs are a real thing, everyone has a breaking point. Know your own needs and recognize when you're in need of that mental health day. Your mental health matters so much. Your brain powers your entire body and without it being at its tip-top shape you sacrifice more than just your mental health. Don't let anyone around you feel like your feelings and your disorders don't matter. Take of yourself and take care of people around you. It takes a village.
