Behind every mental health statistic is a student who is silently struggling or an adult who has to force themselves out of bed every morning. In 2023, approximately one-third of high school students were found to have poor mental health. According to a CDC study, a higher amount, 40% of high school students, experienced persistent sadness or feelings of hopelessness. With adults, the statistics are no better. In the United States, the National Alliance on Mental Illness estimates that more than 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental health illness each year.
These numbers starkly reveal the reality of mental health and the prevalence of struggles that come along with it. The symptoms vary from person to person, with mental health overall affecting emotional well-being, per the WHO. Mental health shapes how people cope with stress, make decisions, interact with others, learn, and work. Even among those who may not have diagnosed mental health conditions, having negative mental health days or experiences is not uncommon. The implications of mental health for one’s body and everyday life can be no different than an infection, a broken leg, or any other physical health issue. So, mental health days deserve the same treatment as physical health, with days taken off for mental health provided equal status with any other sick day.
When most people hear sick days, whether it may be for work or school, they generally think of the flu, a stomach virus, or some other illness. The logic for taking time off due to these circumstances is obvious. Someone who is sick deserves rest and is not expected to learn or work as usual. Mental health is no different.
Experiencing conditions like depression, increased anxiety, or stress can be just as negative in terms of their impact on daily functions in school and jobs as a physical health condition. According to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, mental health plays an important role in determining one’s energy level, concentration, optimism, and focus, all of which play key roles in one’s ability to learn in school or perform daily tasks at their job. Additionally, they state that “depression is associated with lower grade point averages, and that co-occurring depression and anxiety can increase this association.”
Mental health is also associated with productivity. According to an article from UC Berkeley, unresolved depression and mental health issues account for a 35% reduction in productivity. It also mentioned that studies have found those struggling with mental health issues reported more difficulties with performing creative tasks in their everyday life. This sentiment was echoed by Nurse Ellen, one of Greeley’s two nurses, along with Nurse Edith, who stated that “mental health definitely interferes with your performance, with academics, with sports, with sleep. It affects a lot of things that are going to affect how your body functions.” Mental health plays a key role in ensuring that someone is at their best when working or learning. If someone cannot function normally due to their mental health, why should they be prevented from taking a day or two to reset?
Allowing days off for mental health would give time for one to take a break and remove themselves from environments like school and work that can be extremely overwhelming and stressful. In turn, this can help avoid some of the effects negative mental health has on productivity and everyday functions. Natalie Dattilo, a professor at Harvard University, told the University Health Journal that “shrugging off all responsibilities, even for just 24 hours, can help you return to work and life with a fresher perspective and leave you feeling calmer, more capable, and perhaps even more productive.”
So, taking some time to correct the negative and powerful impacts of mental health is crucial. Nurse Edith stressed how it is important to strive towards healing when it comes to mental health, because “if you’re physically well and not mentally well, you’re not balanced.” Taking time to step back from school or work offers the perfect opportunity to balance oneself.
Additionally, allowing for mental health sick days reduces stigma surrounding mental health, recognizing these impacts as real and not a burden one should carry around. While in recent years, the prevalence of some stigmas surrounding mental health has been reduced, many of them still linger. According to High Focus Treatment Centers, narratives surrounding mental health that struggles with it are negative, invalid, or simply for seeking attention, remain. In many cases, they can be used to discriminate or stereotype against those who may have mental health concerns.
Combined, these stigmas can make it harder for people to acknowledge or discuss their mental health freely, especially in environments where one may need to take a day off. While 88% of American adults say having a mental health disorder is nothing to be ashamed of, only 52% of adults feel comfortable discussing their mental health with their employer or in the workplace, per the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association. “If you hurt yourself or you feel sick, you’ll say it,” Nurse Ellen stated. “There’s a stigma all around that people don’t want to admit or give in [to the idea] that they need help or they need to take a break.” However, if workplaces and schools openly acknowledge the importance of mental health days, it would legitimize mental health conversations and create environments where students, faculty, and employees feel safe and valid to take care of their mental health when they need it. “Everyone needs to take a break,” Nurse Ellen added.
With environments more supportive of mental health awareness, mental health will become a standard thing to talk about. Nurse Edith underlined that this is critical for helping to improve mental health. She stated that when one is struggling with their mental health, it feels “sort of out of control, [like] the world, something is happening to me … when you talk about it, it puts you in the position of taking the wheel and getting in control of trying to heal yourself.”
This reality has already been recognized across the nation, where the importance of mental health days has been seen as necessary. As early as 2009, states have allowed mental illness or mental health as reasons for an excused absence in schools, with Minnesota being the first in the nation. Since the pandemic, numerous states have followed suit. According to EducationWeek, “the Utah legislature passed a law in 2018 that lets students take excused absences for mental illness.” However, they did not just stop there. In 2021, legislatures passed a new law stating that “taking care of one’s mental health—not just having a mental illness—is an acceptable reason for missing school.”
Mental health days are not new and uncharted territories. They have been acknowledged and viewed as important across the country. Mental health does not change state by state. If it can be recognized across the border in Connecticut, it does not make sense for it to lack the same status in New York. At the time of writing, a bill mandating Boards of Education to allow mental health reasons as a valid excused absence has not even been voted on in the legislature. Additionally, per the Department of Labor, current federal law provides most employees with the right to leave for mental-health reasons under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). If most employees and some students are provided these protections, it is simply illogical to deny them to all employees and all students.
While mental health days can be beneficial for one’s well-being and overall health, they cannot be taken for granted. Nurse Edith stated that if a mental health day is not for taking a break, resetting, or discussing what is happening, it is not effective. “That’s not towards progress,” she added. Additionally, mental health issues cannot be solved in just one day or two. While time off for mental health is effective, it serves as just one part of the path to improving mental health. Both nurses mentioned how mental health days need to be accompanied by discussions with trusted adults, school counselors, and school psychologists. Nurse Edith summarized that “a structure stands best when it has a lot of support.”
Providing legitimacy to taking time to clear one’s head and evaluate their emotions that are affecting their performance is long overdue. Everyone has a day or a period where they may not feel at their best and require time for themselves. Ignoring this truth prevents acknowledging the role of mental health in everyday life. The solution is simple: allow everyone to have access to mental health days as sick days. As Nurse Ellen puts it, “it can make the world of a difference.”
