Taking Mental Health Days is Important for Your Wellbeing.

But what do I do on my mental health days? Do I just sit around doing nothing? Well, you absolutely could! But for those of us with neurotypical brains, doing literally nothing can sound just as torturous as working on something important. Therefore, we all need some good mental health day ideas every now and then.

The only problem is, what do we do on our days off? By the time they come around, we could be so overwhelmed with choices that we just do nothing at all, and then feel like we wasted our day. No more of that!

In this blog post, I am going to go over 15 mental health day ideas that will leave you feeling rested, refreshed, and taken care of.

Go Somewhere Fun

This one, by definition, is fun! You could go to the movies, the aquarium, an amusement park — the options are endless! This is a good thing to do for a mental health day because it takes your mind off the stress of everyday life and puts you in a new setting that you will enjoy. You can go by yourself or bring your friends along with you and make a host of new memories. Give it a try!

Clean or Declutter Your Space

Now, I know this one doesn’t sound like any fun at all, but once it is done, it can leave you feeling very satisfied and content. The state of your space can directly affect your mental health, so it’s important to keep it tidy. If you don’t have the motivation for this on your day off, that’s totally understandable. If you still want to try, go little by little. Throw away that cup on the counter. Re-organize your makeup collection. Little by little, things will start looking better, and you will start feeling better.

Watch Streaming Services

This one is a no-brainer. It’s super easy to zonk out on the couch and do nothing but watch your favorite shows and movies. Or, you could even watch YouTube or Twitch — whatever your jam is. Pick something new to watch or watch your old favorites, whatever you’re in the mood for! This can be a great way to just shut your brain off. Snuggle up on the couch with some of your favorite food (which I go over later in this post!) and let the TV take you away.

Read a Book

Reading is such a nice way to relax and indulge in something fun after a long time of working or being stressed. You can get lost in a new world of your choosing and spend the whole day there (if the book is long enough, that is). You could also listen to an audiobook or story-based podcast and get the same effect. Again, whatever your jam is!

Play Some Video Games

This is a really fun one. Everyone loves a good gaming session every now and then! Some of us more than others (me, for example). There are a lot of cozy games out there that are really easy to get into and are relaxing to play, such as Animal Crossing or Stardew Valley. If those games aren’t your style, dive into the tried and true games that you enjoy playing. And remember, there’s no wrong way to play a game. Play however makes it fun for you!

Go Get Pampered

This can be anything from going to the nail salon to getting your hair cut. Sometimes a small change is what you need to feel better, and it is all the better to be pampered during that small change. Go on Pinterest, find something you love, and take it to your nail or hair stylist. There’s nothing that feels better than a fresh new look!

Take a Walk

Now, those of us with disabilities might not be able to do this (I know I can’t) but for those of us who can, I think it is a lovely practice (as long as you stay safe!). Being out in nature is a great way to connect with the world and connect with yourself, especially if you go on a “mindful” walk. A mindful walk is when you make an effort to notice everything around you when you are walking — like how the leaves are falling, how the wind feels, or just how you feel in general. This is a practice in mindfulness, which is something that can really improve your mental health if you practice it often.

Make Something New

This could be anything from cooking to making a piece of art. Being creative on your day off can be really rewarding and a good outlet. But, what if I’m not a creative person? Listen, we are ALL creative people! Being artsy and being creative isn’t the same thing. Being creative is creating anything at all, while being artsy is creating art. You can “create” food (which I talk about later) or you can “create” a clean space (which I talked about before). So — go create something!

Take a Nap

When in doubt, take a nap. You work hard, and you need to rest just as hard. Resting is the most important thing you can do for your mind, body, and spirit. If you don’t rest, you don’t replenish yourself, and if you don’t replenish yourself, you can’t do anything else. So, cuddle up in bed, on your couch, or in your other favorite napping place, and let yourself rest.

Journal

In this post, I go over 7 different types of journals to keep and why you should keep them. There’s a lot in there, so I’d highly recommend reading that! But in short, pick a type of journal to keep or just keep a regular old journal, and write about your day. There’s so much you can do with a journal, and there’s so much that a journal can do for you. I’ve been journaling on and off all my life, and I have always enjoyed the times I did. I journal now almost every day, and it brings me a real sense of contentment.

Meditate

Meditating is a great way to spend part of a mental health day. If you start your day with meditation, you are setting yourself up for an amazing day full of a restful and positive attitude. And if you end your day with meditation, you are destressing from your day. Just like with mindfulness (which I mentioned in the “take a walk” section), practicing meditation often can improve your mental health greatly, and in turn, your life. There are plenty of meditation apps that will walk you through how to meditate, I highly recommend finding one that works for you.

Cook Your Favorite Comfort Food

We all have to eat, even on our days off. Cooking yourself your favorite comfort food for your mental health day is a good idea! If you aren’t a cook or you just don’t feel like it, get your favorite take-out food delivered instead. However you go about this, you can’t go wrong!

Hang Out With Friends

What could be better than hanging out with your friends? You guys could do anything on this list together — like cook something, go get your nails done, make crafty stuff, whatever you want! You can even do nothing at all, just sit on the couch, talk, and enjoy each other’s company. There’s not a wrong way to hang out with friends!

Volunteer Somewhere

Helping someone else can do wonders for you if you’re the type of person who enjoys helping people — it can actually be a form of self-care! If you’re not a people person, you can go to an animal shelter and help there! You can pet and babysit puppies and kittens all day — what could be better than that?

Practice Self-Care

Technically, everything I’ve listed in this blog post is self-care. In this blog post, I explain that anything you do to take care of yourself is self-care, and spending time relaxing and doing your hobbies is most definitely taking care of yourself. You simply have to take the time to refill your spoons, especially if you’re disabled like I am. I have to spend a lot of time recharging — most of my time, actually — in order to function. The amount of time people need to spend recharging changes from person to person, and only you know how much rest you need. Whatever the amount, make sure you get it!

In Conclusion…

Taking mental health days is really important for, well, your mental health! You can’t work 24/7 — you HAVE to rest, or you will burn out. So, that’s why I came up with and went over 15 mental health day ideas in this post, so you don’t have to worry anymore about what you’re going to do on your days off.

You can, of course, do multiples of these on your mental health days, you don’t have to pick just one! In fact, for those of us who are neurodivergent, it’s actually better for us to do multiple things in one day (unless we’re locked into something, then that’s a whole other story).

Anyway, the point is, mental health days are important, and what you do on those days is just as important. That’s why I put together and explained all these things so that you would be able to pick from this list and not have to worry about anything else.

I hope you found something here that can help you, thanks for reading!

— Bee <333