Celebrating Mental Health Day: Traditions and Festivities

First off, though you may already know this, let me define what Mental Health Day is. Mental Health Day is a day devoted to burned-out, overly tired and stressed, usually crabby, possibly homicidal, workers. These workers have been faithfully going to work, putting in their 40+, 50+, even 60+ hours/week, listening patiently while their coworkers complain and their bosses nag/offer "helpful" advice, quietly and dutifully performing their assigned tasks, then going home with "homework" to finish up. The next day entails more of the same, and likewise the day after that. Weeks roll by, seasons change, and these selfless worker bees just continue with their never-ending obligations: placating customers, presenting research data, training new worker bees, undergoing performance evaluations.

As time wears on, so do the workers: their boundless energy and curiosity are long since faded, much like their once vibrant tans. Waking up to pre-dawn darkness, they spend their daylight hours under fluorescent lighting, then exit to night once more. This scenario reminds me of a line (about the dead) from Ecclesiastes: "Their love, their hate, and their jealousy have long since vanished; No longer will they have a part in anything that happens under the sun."

It is precisely because of the gloomy scenario I have outlined above that Mental Health Day (MHD) was instituted. MHD does not fall on a set date; rather, workers choose to celebrate the day whenever they wish/need to, or whenever the boss is away. The proper terms for MHD, if you look at the pay stub of your check, are "sick day(s)" and "personal day(s)". If there is a really dire need to celebrate MHD, your paycheck also has the third official term, "vacation day(s)". I would advise against using a vacation day for MHD, however, unless the first two day types have been completely exhausted.