If you have experienced a bad mental health day in the last 30 days, you are not alone; a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study from 2021 found that U.S. adults 

reported an average of 4.7 recent mentally unhealthy days in the past 30 days due to stress, depression, or problems with emotions. This number was slightly higher for women than for men. Also, in 2021, 29% of high school students experienced poor mental health “most of the time or always” during the last 30 days. 

Most of us have experienced bad mental health days, and it is normal to feel that way. The purpose of this blog is to provide a few strategies and tools that you can use next time you are having a bad mental health day. 

Step One: Recognize You’re Having a Bad Mental Health Day

Accepting and recognizing how we feel can be one of the challenges of knowing what to do on bad mental health days. We are often the most judgmental of ourselves, and bad mental health days can find us being even more critical of ourselves. Next time you experience a bad mental health day, try to stop, take some calming breaths, and accept how you feel without passing judgment. It really is okay not to be okay. 

Once you’ve accepted your emotions without judgment, try to reflect on the causes. Is it a family matter? Work challenge? General stress or fatigue? It can be helpful to remember that bad mental health days are usually temporary and will pass.   

Thich Nhat Hanh, a monk, author, and teacher, has been quoted as saying, “It’s like a mother: when the baby is crying, she picks up the baby and she holds the baby tenderly in her arms. Your pain, your anxiety, is your baby. You have to take care of it. You have to go back to yourself, recognize the suffering in you, embrace the suffering, and you get relief.”

While easier said than done, this analogy can be helpful when remembering step one for what to do on bad mental health days. 

Step Two: Choose a Strategy

Once you’ve identified and accepted your emotions, you are ready for the next step–choosing a strategy for what to do about it. Some solutions are likely to work better than others, depending on the challenges you’re facing or the emotions you are experiencing. The following are some ideas to get you thinking about what might work well for you, given your time options and situation, but the possibilities are endless. 

• Dial in some self-care: taking a warm bath, watching funny cat videos, getting a massage, taking a power nap, playing an instrument, or listening to music are all activities that might give you a brief respite from your emotions.

• Subtract something: Saying no or turning off sources of stress is perfectly acceptable. That can include social media, news, or even making a conscious effort to take a break from people in your life.

• Move: Go for a walk, do yoga, play a sport, or do anything else that might boost those endorphins!

• Connect: Reach out to a trusted person or group in your support network capable of providing empathy. Again, most of us have personal experience with bad mental health days, and it would bring us happiness to help someone overcome theirs. 

Step Three: Seek Professional Support

Hopefully, the more you practice steps one and two, the easier it will become to navigate bad mental health days. However, some issues may require more attention and professional support. This, too, is completely normal. If you have noticed that one or a few bad mental health days are turning into more and more, it may be time to seek professional help. Support can look a lot of different ways, including connecting with a therapist or counselor virtually or in person, calling a hotline, or using apps designed to support mental health. 

Parkdale Center Mental Health Treatment Options

At Parkdale Center, we understand that it’s not always easy to know what to do on bad mental health days. We also want you to know that our compassionate and experienced counselors are here to support you. Your emotions are valid, and you are not alone in what you are feeling. Please call us today to discuss how we can help you create a plan to navigate the challenges you are facing.