How To Take Time Off From Work For Your Mental Health

Stress can affect all areas of your life, including your job. Here's how to determine if you need a break and how to take a leave of absence.

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In the spring of 2018, my mental and physical health had deteriorated to a point where I felt unable to function. I wasn’t just dealing with a cold or a bad few weeks. Stress had ravaged my mind and body, creating a snowball effect that led to mental health problems including a panic disorder, major depression and generalized anxiety. And all of that contributed to flare-ups of chronic illness and a completely compromised immune system. So, I took a medical disability leave and it changed my life.

Many people in corporate environments don’t know about this option, despite the fact that depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. I didn’t. There’s a huge stigma when it comes to addressing mental health in the workplace. There’s a valid fear of facing repercussions or discrimination at your job based on your mental health status.

But as more people reach breaking points, they may not have another option. Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the number of workers taking mental health leave appeared to be on the rise, according to Angella Lugioyo, a human resources executive and expert in California. Lugioyo said she has seen an uptick in mental health disability cases in recent years, with most of it being “stress and anxiety related.”

Stacy Cohen, a double board-certified psychiatrist at The Moment in Los Angeles, has seen this with clients in the clinical setting as well. “In the past few years, I’ve had a vast increase in the number of patients pursuing medical disability leave for more general mental health issues, with work-related stress being a major contributing factor,” she said.

And the need for leave may only increase: Experts predict mental health issues ― and the need to address them ― will continue to rise as the year goes on. The stresses of COVID-19, police brutality and racism are combining to produce a unique mental health crisis. Texts to one federal emergency hotline increased by 1,000% in April 2020 (over April 2019), and prescriptions for anti-anxiety and anti-depression medication have risen by roughly 10%.

Mental and emotional distress can have dangerous consequences if not addressed properly. That makes it’s more important than ever to take care of yourself ― especially if you have the resources to do so.

Here’s how to determine if you need mental health leave, what type of leave to take, how to obtain leave and how to make the most of your recovery time.

Should You Take Leave?

The decision of whether to take a leave of absence is ultimately a personal choice that you have to sort through. This likely should be done with the help of a therapist or physician since you’ll need them if you do decide to go on leave (more on that in a moment).

But first of all, don’t feel wrong or bad for considering it.

“I would 100% advise anyone who might not be in the healthiest place — and they know they need help with their mental health — to take time away from work,” said Nina Westbrook, a psychotherapist and keynote speaker.

Unfortunately, this is not now an option for everybody. “There are those who don’t have the opportunity to take time off work ― particularly single-parent households or people who work for a business that doesn’t provide that type of support,” Westbrook said.

That’s why there need to be more mental health resources available, Westbrook added, both in the workplace and outside it.

If you are in a position to potentially take time off, one initial assessment should be whether you’re facing work burnout or a medical condition that’s affecting your ability to perform on the job.

W. Nate Upshaw, a board-certified psychiatrist and medical director at NeuroSpa TMS, explained that when work-specific burnout is the problem, there might be ways to fix that without taking a leave. For example, he said, “Can they talk with their boss? Can they transfer to a different department? Is there a way they can change either the situation or their perspective?”

Upshaw added that although “burnout is considered a legitimate justification for medical leave in some countries,” that’s not how it works in the United States. Yet burnout, if left unchecked, “can lead to symptoms that do qualify as a medical condition such as an anxiety disorder, or mood disorder such as depression,” he said.

“I always emphasize to people this is not a moral failing. This is a medical issue that can get better.”