Meaning & use
mental health day
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableinformal
A day taken off work or school to rest and protect your emotional well-being, not because of physical illness.
Grammar: Countable: use 'a mental health day' for one day and 'mental health days' for more than one.
Patterns
- take a mental health day
- need a mental health day
She took a mental health day after a stressful week at the office.
Many companies now allow employees to take a mental health day without giving a reason.
He said he needed a mental health day, so he stayed home and turned off his phone.
Word forms
| plural | mental health days |
|---|
Common combinations
- take a mental health day
- I decided to take a mental health day on Friday.
- need a mental health day
- After that project, we all needed a mental health day.
- a mental health day off
- The manager gave him a mental health day off.
- use a mental health day
- You can use a mental health day if you feel overwhelmed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- personal day
- A personal day is a more general and often official term for a day off for any personal reason, not only mental health.
- duvet day
- Duvet day is British informal and suggests staying in bed, while mental health day focuses on emotional well-being.
Commonly confused: mental health day or sick day?
mental health day vs sick day
A sick day is for physical illness; a mental health day is specifically for emotional or psychological rest.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'mental health day' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A mental health day is for emotional well-being, so feeling anxious and needing a break fits. The flu is physical illness (sick day), finishing a report is work, and a holiday is vacation.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mental health day”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.