Spiritual Health Days
At Media Cause, the agency where I work, the first Friday of every quarter is an company-wide Mental Health Day. All business shuts down, we’re encouraged not to check email or Slack, and we tell our clients ahead of time so they know not to expect responses.
There’s a lot more to the story of how these came about, including the comprehensive employee mental health and wellness program I’ve been spearheading for the last six months. But all of that is for another post.
Because today is a Mental Health Day.
And when it’s an officially sanctioned event—versus when I need to call-out for an unexpected Mental Health Day because I’m stuck in overwhelm, depression, PMDD, or any combination thereof—it feels like bonus time. Like something luxurious to be savored, treasured, enjoyed, relished.
But because this day-off is not a reactive coping mechanism, or a desperate attempt to regain some sense of emotional stability, it actually feels like more of a Spiritual Health Day than a Mental Health Day for me. It’s filled with anticipation rather than dread. It’s bathed in light rather than darkness. It feels like nourishment rather than repair. And goodness knows after all the inner work and self-exploration I do on a regular basis, I could use a little positive nourishment break.
Let the Spiritual Health Day begin.
For the next 8 hours, I do not need to think about, take care of, chauffeur, make food for, or otherwise consider anyone other than myself. Do you know how often that happens? Almost never. (Well, I guess technically once a quarter.)
I still woke up at 5:30 to read, write, sip my coffee, and walk Rubes, all before getting the kiddos ready and taking them to school. But the whole time, there was a little extra spring in my step. Just the promise of a full day of relaxation feels energizing. What a concept.
In full disclosure, I am not doing nothing today, though. That’s hard for me, and being unscheduled takes a little while to settle into. (The last time I was able to do that was when I spent a week at the mountain house by myself, and it was fully Day 3 before I really eased-into just “being.”)
So here’s my plan for today…which I may or may not have mapped-out a few weeks in advance:
Eat breakfast in bed. Maybe the #1 luxury on my list. It’s like breaking the rules, but no one knows about it. My own little delicious secret.
Read, write, shop online. Whatever I feel like in the moment. No obligations or objectives.
Get a 2 hour massage. Ever since enjoying a massage of this extreme length for my birthday last year, I can’t go back to anything less. It takes me at least 30 minutes to stop running through lists and conversations in my head, so I need the runway to fully let go and sink in.
Walk around Trader Joe’s and get whatever I want for lunch. This may not seem indulgent, but it is for me. My lunches usually consist of whatever is on hand in the house—so normally, some form of salad with either deli or leftovers on it. Or a couple times this week, I made myself an omelette. But today…I will have CHOICES! I can browse, I can pick some of this and some of that. I can walk in with 2 things on my list and leave with 18. It does not matter! Bliss.
Go for a haircut, and NOT be working on my laptop while my stylist does my color. Instead, I will bring a book. Or maybe read a magazine. Or perhaps do neither and just make small talk. I won’t be checking Slack or responding to emails. I will be enjoying a service that makes me feel good.
At 4pm, my Day-of-Amy will end. But my daughter is sleeping-over at a friend’s house tonight, and my husband is still traveling for work, which means it’ll just be me and my son. We very rarely ever get solo time together like this, so in some ways, my Day-of-Amy will just evolve into an Evening-of-Noah-and-Mommy. We’ll have dinner. We’ll watch a movie together. We’ll snuggle in bed. And it will be delightful.
There’s nothing extravagant on my schedule for today (ok, maybe the 2 hour massage is a little bit borderline), but I’ve learned that I don’t need extreme things in order to unwind or relax. I don’t need to be on a tropical island (although if anyone’s offering, I’ll take it), I don’t need to spend hours meditating (I have enough trouble with 20 minutes these days), I don’t need fancy dinners (although again, I will gladly accept).
I just need ME TIME. Space. Freedom. Choice.
Imagine how much healthier and saner we would all feel if we were able to bring more of those things into our everyday lives. Fewer obligations. Fewer “should”s. Fewer meetings. Fewer people to be responsible for. Fewer expectations to live up to. Fewer duties on our to-do lists. Fewer everything.
It all goes back to prioritizing being over doing.
I’m attempting that for 8 glorious hours today. The first 45 minutes have already been great.
I will try to enjoy it as much as I can, for as long as it lasts. Because tomorrow…I turn back into a pumpkin.