How to Get the Most from a Mental Health Day
Sometimes, taking a day off that's specifically geared toward stress relief and burnout prevention is the best thing you can do for yourself. In this episode, Dr. Cliff Saper explores how we can get the most out of our mental health days.
Featuring:
Clifton “Cliff” Saper, PhD
Dr. Clifton “Cliff” Saper is the Lead Psychologist for AMITA Health and the Director of Clinical Services for Behavioral Medicine. He has been practicing for over 40 years and has been with AMITA Health for 26 of those years. He is passionate about helping his clients and his fellow healthcare workers manage stress, change unhealthy behaviors, and resolve interpersonal conflicts. He is experienced in working with children, teens, adults and older adults, individually, in groups, and within their families. Dr. Saper is well known in the community as an educator and advocate on mental health and addiction issues. He would like to share that accomplishing what he has accomplished during his career would not have been possible without many mental health days and a good dose of humor. Transcription:
Prakash Chandran (Host): Sometimes taking a day off that's specifically geared towards stress relief and burnout prevention is the best thing you can do for yourself. While it might not solve heavy underlying problems that lead to burnout, mental health day, they can provide a much needed break to pause, regroup, and come back with greater levels of energy and a fresh, less stressed perspective. Joining us to discuss is Dr. Cliff Saper, Lead Clinical Psychologist with the AMITA Health Behavioral Medicine Institute and Director of Clinical Services for the Behavioral Medicine Service Line at AMITA Health. Welcome to the AMITA HealthCast, the podcast from AMITA Health. My name is Prakash Chandran. And so Dr. Saper, it's really great to have you here today. I'd love to start by learning a little bit more about your background and what you do at AMITA Health.
Clifton “Cliff” Saper, PhD (Guest): Thanks Prakash. I'm happy to be here with you today. I am, as you mentioned, the Lead Psychologist for AMITA Health with over 40 years of experience, practicing in a variety of settings from outpatient psychotherapy offices, to inpatient programs and what I've been doing for the last year and a half, during this pandemic, is training folks and leading virtual peer support groups for our health care workers,
Host: I have a lot of friends and even myself, to some extent that has just gone through a really hard time, because you've had so many different shifts in your way of life. Sometimes you've been kind of removed from the people that you love. You've had to stay siloed in one place, and I think it affects everyone differently. Have you found that to be true as well?
Dr. Saper: That's absolutely true. And you know, not everyone is aware of their emotions and not everyone is aware of what's going on inside of them and how impacted they are by the stress, and certainly during this pandemic, by the overwhelming stresses that were all around them. And so therefore not everyone really knows that they need a break.
Host: Yeah, I think yeah, to that point, it almost feels unnatural to sit still and examine oneself. And so I think this is why it's so important to surface things like mental health day. So, I guess, related to that, what are some signs that a mental health day is needed? Like how can someone actually assess that for themselves?
Dr. Saper: Well, it's interesting that you bring that up Prakash because you know, half of us are really hesitant to take a day off. I know I am. And so when you think about what would our employer think,
Each of them is wired very differently and we manage our stress differently. And what we find is that unmanaged stress affects us. It affects me. It affects you. It affects everybody emotionally, cognitively, and physically, and we've all been there. So, this year, because of the incredibly long period of the pandemic, we've been more stressed than ever. If we learned anything though, and what I have found this year is that it is okay to be not okay.
That anxiety and depression are normal reactions to a very stressful situation like COVID. So there's no shame in asking for support and leaning on each other, or in fact taking a break. So, when you ask, when should you do this break is when you're finding that you keep getting sick. When you're feeling exhausted, when you feel undervalued and unappreciated, when your workload feels overwhelming and that as you wake up, you feel that every day, in fact, is a bad day and you don't care about your work quality. Hopefully you don't reach the ultimate point of burnout, so you have no choice, but to stay home.
So again, the signs are mood changes. Prakash, you get crabby, you get irritable, you're anxious. There are physical signs like your neck and shoulders are tighter than normal. You feel nauseous at the start of every day and you complain of headaches and stomachaches and backaches, and you find that in fact, focusing is really hard and we start to make mistakes both at home and at work.
And our concentration is poor. And again, we keep getting sick. So, chronic unmanaged stress weakens the responses to your immune system, which makes you more prone to illness. Your eating is off, your sleeping it's off. You're actually not finding any thrills anymore in what you do every day and your work and family no longer bring you much joy. You are bored. Nothing is exciting.
Host: You know, I definitely love that you have broken down all of these indicators in such a clear and concise way, and it really feels like a framework that someone can use to kind of mark where on that bell curve, they are on a day-to-day basis so they can recognize that pattern. So, let's say they do recognize they need to take a day for themselves. Can you talk about some of the things that one should do during a mental health day for themselves that they're taking?
Dr. Saper: Sure, but you know, Prakash, let's stop here for a moment. Perhaps mental health day is not the best term. All this, although this year we've seen the stigma of mental health issues decrease. Many folks and you may be one of them, still think of mental health and mental illness. They think that maybe that doesn't apply to them only to others who have real problems.
So, I think we should call the break that we all need at times, a break for self-care. Doesn't that go down much easier. Yeah. You know, as we all work like crazy and suffer the consequences, think about this. The conventional wisdom is more, bigger, faster is always better. But I think the real wisdom is more, bigger, faster is a prescription for breakdown and burnout.
And it, it, it shouldn't have to be a day or two or a month. Self-care should happen daily. So, you know, think of when you had a physical ailment, like a sprained knee, it doesn't take just one day of rest. You have to do your stretches daily and you keep doing them that way as a really, as a way of life, daily exercising it and stretching, the same thing is true for all cells.
You need to put it into your daily schedule. If it isn't on your calendar, you know, it ain't going to happen. If you find yourself just living for that vacation or that day off, you probably aren't really using the prevention strategies daily that's, that are going to help you manage your symptoms. So, these are five things that you could do on your breaks or on your day off and some things to be avoided.
First, let your colleagues and your family and your boss know that you're going to be taking a self-care break or even a self-care day. So, they should not be calling you and they need to come up with backups for people to answer the phone for you and take on other projects or at home, maybe taking the kids to school, which you would usually do or do the laundry.
Two, invest in yourself. So, during your break, take a walk, perhaps take a bike ride, listen to some music that you enjoy or do art. If it's a day, take a spa day and allow yourself to unw. Even if it's just an hour on your schedule. And then I suggest that there's some activities Prakash that you should skip, like excessive drinking or taking drugs or watching endless TV series or lots of computer work.
And in fact, I tell people, turn off your phone for work calls, but as you mentioned, don't avoid your friends and your family. Stay connected with them by phone or Zoom or, or in person. And don't become isolated. This is an important factor. Isolation I found in working with our health care workers, isolation is an important factor to create depression and burnout, hang out with people who are joyful, who are optimistic, who are engaged, not those people who we call toxic and you know who they are. Don't stress over taking the time. The purpose is to relax, to breathe. You know, you're not indispensable. Others will figure it out and pick up the load. I suggest that you use this time, this break time to think about yourself because we rarely take the time to do that.
You know, to just become a couch potato and think that's going to help you re-energize or rejuvenate so that you can go back to work, is really a false notion. I think that it's just it just takes up time. And I would suggest that you use the time really to think more about yourself. Think about your values, your goals.
What brings you joy? What doesn't. Can you make changes in your life? Those are things that we ordinarily aren't thinking about, and most importantly, this is the time where you can think about gratitude. What, in fact are you grateful for? Your life isn't all terrible. Who are you grateful to? What are you grateful for? Maybe even write it down and keep a self-care journal. I have an exercise that I could do right now, and it only take a minute. I wonder Prakash. If you'd be up for it?
Host: I'm always up for it. Let's do it.
Dr. Saper: Great. Okay. So, this is an exercise that can be done on your daily break, or as a way to start your self-care day, rather than sitting on the couch and watching binge watching TV.
So, we're going to tighten, relax, and relax all of our muscles, toes to chest, and then work on our breathing. So, tighten your feet. And let it go. Tighten your calves and legs. Hold your leg straight out. If you can, tighten them good and let it go. Tighten your butt, hold it tight and let it go. And now tighten your abs.
Hold it and let it go. Now, make fists, hold it and let it go and hold your arms straight out and tighten them, all the muscles. And now let it relax and let your hands drop to your lap. Now, tighten all your face muscles. Hold them tight. Good. Nobody's looking and now let it go. And then tighten your neck and shoulders as if you have a bar, a metal bar running through your neck and shoulders and hold it tight. And let it go and now tighten your chest, hold it and let it go. And now I want you to take a deep breath through your nose, hold it and let it go. And one more in through the nose. Good. And blow it out through the mouth and as you're blowing it out, I want you to think of that last relaxing vacation, where you were lying on the beach or in a field near a bubbling brook or lying on a rubber raft in your neighbor's pool.
And I want you to envision that memory, how it sounded, how it smelled, how it felt, and that's a safe comfortable relaxing place that you can go to when you're feeling stressed.
Host: just as we start to close here, I'm curious if someone wants to seek that support, talk a little bit about what they should do, number one, and what resources might be available to help them.
Dr. Saper: So, the first thing I would say to people is stay connected to others. You know, there is no shame again in asking for support or even seeking out therapy.
So, find your battle buddy. And if you're a boss or a leader, encourage your reports to take their breaks or take some time off. They shouldn't feel guilty about engaging in self-care. It again, it's okay to be not okay. As a leader, set an example, walk the talk. Senator Cory Booker once said leadership is not a position or a title. It is action and example. So, for resources in Illinois here, the AMITA Health Call Center number is 855-383-2224 and that would be to look up finding a therapist or a counselor, either within the AMITA Health System or outside. We also have a crisis support line. The number is 708-681- 4357. And the people that are answering that phone, 24/7 will give you suggestions and resources on how to proceed if you really are feeling desperate. And then for all kinds of self-care resources and listing of our Mental Health and Addiction Programs, we suggest you go to the AMITA health website, which is amitahealth.org. And for any of our national listeners, the suicide hotline is 1-800-273-8255 or text go G-O to 741741. And the American Psychological Association website has videos, articles, tip sheets, resources for treatment and talks a lot about articles regarding mental health and self-care.
Host: Well, Dr. Saper, I really appreciate your time today and all of those resources. Thank you so much for your time. Just before we close, any other final closing thoughts that we'd like to leave our audience with?
Dr. Saper: I think as you get off this podcast, I'd like you to take a deep breath through your nose and blow it out of your mouth before you start into the craziness of the rest of your workday.
Host: That is wonderful advice and something that I will certainly be doing as well. So, Dr. Saper, thank you so much for your time.
Dr. Saper: Sure. It's my pleasure.
Host: That was Dr. Cliff Saper, Lead Clinical Psychologist with the AMITA Health Behavioral Medicine Institute and Director of Clinical Services for the Behavioral Medicine Service Line at, AMITA Health. Thanks for listening to AMITA HealthCast, the podcast from AMITA Health. For more information, you can visit amitahealth.org/behavioral. You can also call the AMITA Health Call Center number at (855) 383-2224. Or the crisis support line at 708-681-4357. Thank you again for listening. My name is Prakash Chandran and we'll talk next time.
Prakash Chandran (Host): Sometimes taking a day off that's specifically geared towards stress relief and burnout prevention is the best thing you can do for yourself. While it might not solve heavy underlying problems that lead to burnout, mental health day, they can provide a much needed break to pause, regroup, and come back with greater levels of energy and a fresh, less stressed perspective. Joining us to discuss is Dr. Cliff Saper, Lead Clinical Psychologist with the AMITA Health Behavioral Medicine Institute and Director of Clinical Services for the Behavioral Medicine Service Line at AMITA Health. Welcome to the AMITA HealthCast, the podcast from AMITA Health. My name is Prakash Chandran. And so Dr. Saper, it's really great to have you here today. I'd love to start by learning a little bit more about your background and what you do at AMITA Health.
Clifton “Cliff” Saper, PhD (Guest): Thanks Prakash. I'm happy to be here with you today. I am, as you mentioned, the Lead Psychologist for AMITA Health with over 40 years of experience, practicing in a variety of settings from outpatient psychotherapy offices, to inpatient programs and what I've been doing for the last year and a half, during this pandemic, is training folks and leading virtual peer support groups for our health care workers,
Host: I have a lot of friends and even myself, to some extent that has just gone through a really hard time, because you've had so many different shifts in your way of life. Sometimes you've been kind of removed from the people that you love. You've had to stay siloed in one place, and I think it affects everyone differently. Have you found that to be true as well?
Dr. Saper: That's absolutely true. And you know, not everyone is aware of their emotions and not everyone is aware of what's going on inside of them and how impacted they are by the stress, and certainly during this pandemic, by the overwhelming stresses that were all around them. And so therefore not everyone really knows that they need a break.
Host: Yeah, I think yeah, to that point, it almost feels unnatural to sit still and examine oneself. And so I think this is why it's so important to surface things like mental health day. So, I guess, related to that, what are some signs that a mental health day is needed? Like how can someone actually assess that for themselves?
Dr. Saper: Well, it's interesting that you bring that up Prakash because you know, half of us are really hesitant to take a day off. I know I am. And so when you think about what would our employer think,
Each of them is wired very differently and we manage our stress differently. And what we find is that unmanaged stress affects us. It affects me. It affects you. It affects everybody emotionally, cognitively, and physically, and we've all been there. So, this year, because of the incredibly long period of the pandemic, we've been more stressed than ever. If we learned anything though, and what I have found this year is that it is okay to be not okay.
That anxiety and depression are normal reactions to a very stressful situation like COVID. So there's no shame in asking for support and leaning on each other, or in fact taking a break. So, when you ask, when should you do this break is when you're finding that you keep getting sick. When you're feeling exhausted, when you feel undervalued and unappreciated, when your workload feels overwhelming and that as you wake up, you feel that every day, in fact, is a bad day and you don't care about your work quality. Hopefully you don't reach the ultimate point of burnout, so you have no choice, but to stay home.
So again, the signs are mood changes. Prakash, you get crabby, you get irritable, you're anxious. There are physical signs like your neck and shoulders are tighter than normal. You feel nauseous at the start of every day and you complain of headaches and stomachaches and backaches, and you find that in fact, focusing is really hard and we start to make mistakes both at home and at work.
And our concentration is poor. And again, we keep getting sick. So, chronic unmanaged stress weakens the responses to your immune system, which makes you more prone to illness. Your eating is off, your sleeping it's off. You're actually not finding any thrills anymore in what you do every day and your work and family no longer bring you much joy. You are bored. Nothing is exciting.
Host: You know, I definitely love that you have broken down all of these indicators in such a clear and concise way, and it really feels like a framework that someone can use to kind of mark where on that bell curve, they are on a day-to-day basis so they can recognize that pattern. So, let's say they do recognize they need to take a day for themselves. Can you talk about some of the things that one should do during a mental health day for themselves that they're taking?
Dr. Saper: Sure, but you know, Prakash, let's stop here for a moment. Perhaps mental health day is not the best term. All this, although this year we've seen the stigma of mental health issues decrease. Many folks and you may be one of them, still think of mental health and mental illness. They think that maybe that doesn't apply to them only to others who have real problems.
So, I think we should call the break that we all need at times, a break for self-care. Doesn't that go down much easier. Yeah. You know, as we all work like crazy and suffer the consequences, think about this. The conventional wisdom is more, bigger, faster is always better. But I think the real wisdom is more, bigger, faster is a prescription for breakdown and burnout.
And it, it, it shouldn't have to be a day or two or a month. Self-care should happen daily. So, you know, think of when you had a physical ailment, like a sprained knee, it doesn't take just one day of rest. You have to do your stretches daily and you keep doing them that way as a really, as a way of life, daily exercising it and stretching, the same thing is true for all cells.
You need to put it into your daily schedule. If it isn't on your calendar, you know, it ain't going to happen. If you find yourself just living for that vacation or that day off, you probably aren't really using the prevention strategies daily that's, that are going to help you manage your symptoms. So, these are five things that you could do on your breaks or on your day off and some things to be avoided.
First, let your colleagues and your family and your boss know that you're going to be taking a self-care break or even a self-care day. So, they should not be calling you and they need to come up with backups for people to answer the phone for you and take on other projects or at home, maybe taking the kids to school, which you would usually do or do the laundry.
Two, invest in yourself. So, during your break, take a walk, perhaps take a bike ride, listen to some music that you enjoy or do art. If it's a day, take a spa day and allow yourself to unw. Even if it's just an hour on your schedule. And then I suggest that there's some activities Prakash that you should skip, like excessive drinking or taking drugs or watching endless TV series or lots of computer work.
And in fact, I tell people, turn off your phone for work calls, but as you mentioned, don't avoid your friends and your family. Stay connected with them by phone or Zoom or, or in person. And don't become isolated. This is an important factor. Isolation I found in working with our health care workers, isolation is an important factor to create depression and burnout, hang out with people who are joyful, who are optimistic, who are engaged, not those people who we call toxic and you know who they are. Don't stress over taking the time. The purpose is to relax, to breathe. You know, you're not indispensable. Others will figure it out and pick up the load. I suggest that you use this time, this break time to think about yourself because we rarely take the time to do that.
You know, to just become a couch potato and think that's going to help you re-energize or rejuvenate so that you can go back to work, is really a false notion. I think that it's just it just takes up time. And I would suggest that you use the time really to think more about yourself. Think about your values, your goals.
What brings you joy? What doesn't. Can you make changes in your life? Those are things that we ordinarily aren't thinking about, and most importantly, this is the time where you can think about gratitude. What, in fact are you grateful for? Your life isn't all terrible. Who are you grateful to? What are you grateful for? Maybe even write it down and keep a self-care journal. I have an exercise that I could do right now, and it only take a minute. I wonder Prakash. If you'd be up for it?
Host: I'm always up for it. Let's do it.
Dr. Saper: Great. Okay. So, this is an exercise that can be done on your daily break, or as a way to start your self-care day, rather than sitting on the couch and watching binge watching TV.
So, we're going to tighten, relax, and relax all of our muscles, toes to chest, and then work on our breathing. So, tighten your feet. And let it go. Tighten your calves and legs. Hold your leg straight out. If you can, tighten them good and let it go. Tighten your butt, hold it tight and let it go. And now tighten your abs.
Hold it and let it go. Now, make fists, hold it and let it go and hold your arms straight out and tighten them, all the muscles. And now let it relax and let your hands drop to your lap. Now, tighten all your face muscles. Hold them tight. Good. Nobody's looking and now let it go. And then tighten your neck and shoulders as if you have a bar, a metal bar running through your neck and shoulders and hold it tight. And let it go and now tighten your chest, hold it and let it go. And now I want you to take a deep breath through your nose, hold it and let it go. And one more in through the nose. Good. And blow it out through the mouth and as you're blowing it out, I want you to think of that last relaxing vacation, where you were lying on the beach or in a field near a bubbling brook or lying on a rubber raft in your neighbor's pool.
And I want you to envision that memory, how it sounded, how it smelled, how it felt, and that's a safe comfortable relaxing place that you can go to when you're feeling stressed.
Host: just as we start to close here, I'm curious if someone wants to seek that support, talk a little bit about what they should do, number one, and what resources might be available to help them.
Dr. Saper: So, the first thing I would say to people is stay connected to others. You know, there is no shame again in asking for support or even seeking out therapy.
So, find your battle buddy. And if you're a boss or a leader, encourage your reports to take their breaks or take some time off. They shouldn't feel guilty about engaging in self-care. It again, it's okay to be not okay. As a leader, set an example, walk the talk. Senator Cory Booker once said leadership is not a position or a title. It is action and example. So, for resources in Illinois here, the AMITA Health Call Center number is 855-383-2224 and that would be to look up finding a therapist or a counselor, either within the AMITA Health System or outside. We also have a crisis support line. The number is 708-681- 4357. And the people that are answering that phone, 24/7 will give you suggestions and resources on how to proceed if you really are feeling desperate. And then for all kinds of self-care resources and listing of our Mental Health and Addiction Programs, we suggest you go to the AMITA health website, which is amitahealth.org. And for any of our national listeners, the suicide hotline is 1-800-273-8255 or text go G-O to 741741. And the American Psychological Association website has videos, articles, tip sheets, resources for treatment and talks a lot about articles regarding mental health and self-care.
Host: Well, Dr. Saper, I really appreciate your time today and all of those resources. Thank you so much for your time. Just before we close, any other final closing thoughts that we'd like to leave our audience with?
Dr. Saper: I think as you get off this podcast, I'd like you to take a deep breath through your nose and blow it out of your mouth before you start into the craziness of the rest of your workday.
Host: That is wonderful advice and something that I will certainly be doing as well. So, Dr. Saper, thank you so much for your time.
Dr. Saper: Sure. It's my pleasure.
Host: That was Dr. Cliff Saper, Lead Clinical Psychologist with the AMITA Health Behavioral Medicine Institute and Director of Clinical Services for the Behavioral Medicine Service Line at, AMITA Health. Thanks for listening to AMITA HealthCast, the podcast from AMITA Health. For more information, you can visit amitahealth.org/behavioral. You can also call the AMITA Health Call Center number at (855) 383-2224. Or the crisis support line at 708-681-4357. Thank you again for listening. My name is Prakash Chandran and we'll talk next time.