Now more than ever, mental health is a topic that circles schools, homes, and universities, and it is important to prioritize students’ health physically and mentally.
This is something that schools should start to take into consideration when it comes to absences, and discussing if mental health days should be excused or not.
In schools, it is not talked about enough that it’s okay to take a break or to need time to just breathe, or to take a day off to reset. Students face the constant pressure from teachers, peers, and family members to be the best that they can be. They are put under the stress of homework, clubs, sports, a job, and are expected to be strong and know how to balance it all.
The truth is, balancing it all is not something that is easy to do on your own. Students need a support system and guidance to know that you don’t know how to go full speed 24/7 and that taking a mental health day is okay.
Schools should consider giving their students a certain number of mental health days to use as an excused absence every year, because the truth is, everyone needs a day to breathe sometimes. Not only should this be put in for students, but for staff as well. This could be something that the schools block in as a mandatory day off from school, where the whole school gets a day to mentally rest one to two times a school year, or add two to three excused absences for mental health to all students’ schooling, and staff call-out days.
Taking care of ourselves is something that can be extremely hard when life gets overwhelming and busy. We get too caught up in the moment and forget that slowing down and learning to take care of ourselves is important, especially with the amount of pressure students are under at school and at home. Many students spend hours on homework after school, play sports, have a job, and barely have time to rest.
Some students, on top of all of that, might suffer from symptoms of depression and anxiety and feel like they can’t slow down. Schools do not advocate the importance of mental health enough for them to feel like mental health days should count as excused absences, when the truth is that putting in the time to teach about mental health and instill these kinds of days into the school year can really make a difference for the student who is struggling.
For the student who feels the weight of the world on their shoulders because of everything they have to do, or the student who feels like they can’t speak out about how they are feeling, the student who feels like they are going to be a failure if they do not accomplish everything their peers and parents may want them to.
Having an excused mental health day may be something all students need. They can take the day to relax, sleep in, and do something other than school that they enjoy, or do nothing at all.
A mental health day for students should consist of doing nothing that is school-related because that just might be the reason for all the students’ anxiety and stress. Acknowledging that students need a break is something that schools need to take the time to learn, as well as learn that staff also need a break.
Today, everyone tends to feel like they can’t slow down because of the stressors that we have around us, and for schools, it is important that they consider adding mental health days to excused absences.
