Just One Of Those Days

By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer Local therapist Bryant Howard says occasional mental health days are vital to self-care. Louis Bryant III, OBSERVER Life be lifing. Everybody’s had days when their responsibilities just seem to be too much. Whether you call it the need to regroup, rejuvenate, or unplug, sometimes you just have to say “later” to anything and everything that looks like an obligation. Mental health days are a real thing. After calling in sick, popular mental health day activities include staying in bed, self-pampering, binge watching TV shows, going out to see a movie, and shopping, which many refer to as “retail therapy.” What do mental health days look like for a mental health provider? The OBSERVER recently asked therapist Bryant Howard, owner of Heart of the Matter Counseling. “Being able to recognize what’s happening in my own body is very, very important,” Howard says. “It’s about recognizing, ‘OK, what’s going on with my body?’ If it’s stress related, do I need to take a mental health day? Do I need to take a day off to take care of myself mentally?” Everybody needs time to decompress, Howard says. He’s quite intentional about what he does...