June 2016 - Visions Treatment Centers

We all know the signs. You wake up feeling exhausted, like you haven’t slept a wink. You can’t get your mind to shut down long enough to take a deep breath and relax those tight muscles. You find yourself snapping at your significant other over the smallest things and you can’t remember the last time you indulged in a little fun for fun’s sake.

Yes, we’ve all been there, maybe some of us are even there today. So what do you do when you just don’t feel like you can make it through one more day at work without exploding? A mental health day might be just the ticket.

Why Wait?

Of course, it’s best if you take that day to yourself before the explosion become imminent. In fact, planning ahead for mental health days – actually scheduling them onto your overbooked calendar – is often the healthiest way to go. However, some of us know those stress overloads can sometimes sneak up on us, necessitating that early morning call explaining you are under the weather and won’t be making it into the office that day.

Whether you plan your mental health day ahead of time or take one on the fly, we all need those days to recharge and reset. At Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers, we understand the importance of mental health days and encourage other companies to take the same step in offering those days to their staff as part of the employment package. Whether you are working with patients struggling with addiction or trying to balance the books for a corporation, that time off can actually make you a more productive employee overall.

Are You Ready for a Mental Health Day?

How do you know if you are at the mental health day point? Consider these warning signs:

You are unable to sleep well at night
Your productivity during the day has gone down
You experience feelings of extreme apathy
Your temper grows shorter and shorter
Even small things cause acute irritation
You are not feeling recharged after the weekend

The earlier you recognize these signs, the faster you can nip the stress overload in the bud. Some people even like to pre-plan their mental health days after a particularly busy stretch at work or a major event in their personal lives.

How to Plan Your Mental Health Day

When you do take a mental health day (remember we said when, not if), make sure you use it to your fullest advantage. The goal of the day is to focus on you and spend your time in activities you enjoy. This might mean revisiting a hobby you haven’t had time for, getting in touch with nature or spending time with friends or family you haven’t seen for a while. For some of us, a mental health day might include time for a nap, particularly if we haven’t been getting our prescribed shut-eye at night.

Most importantly, take your mental health day without feeling guilty about taking that day for your personal recharging. Whether your employer makes a point to offer mental health days or not, you are entitled to give yourself the time you need to heal your mental and emotional state as well as your physical body.

Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers works with teens struggling with all types of addictions. Our programs center on clinically-based, comprehensive treatment programs for our patients and their families. To learn more about our services, contact Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers 866-889- 3665.

Self-harm is a concept that can be frightening and confusing to parents. Why would a youngster use self-injury to actually make themselves feel better? The truth is that self-harm can be a form of self-medicating against some types of mental illness or the stresses and strains of daily life. Like drugs and alcohol, the behavior can even become addictive for some kids, making it nearly impossible for them to stop the destruction. Parents can help their children by learning what self-injury is, why it typically occurs and what can be done to break the pattern and heal their kids.

Types of Self-Injury

There are many ways teens can inflict harm on themselves:

Scratching or picking at the skin to cause an injury
Cutting the skin with a sharp object like a razor blade
Biting or burning the skin
Pulling out hair
Hitting themselves or banging their heads against a wall
Piercing the skin with sharp objects
Swallowing dangerous objects or substances

Some teens may try self-harm a few times and then stop because it doesn’t bring them the relief they are hoping for. Others can get into a routine of self-injury that becomes very difficult, if not impossible, to stop on their own.

Signs of Self-Injury

As a parent, you never want to think your child is injuring himself without your knowledge, just like you probably wouldn’t want to face the reality of drug or alcohol abuse. However, ignoring the situation won’t make it go away, and will likely allow things to get worse. If you suspect your child might be self-harming, there are a few telltale signs to watch out for:

Your child wants to wear long sleeves, even in the heat of summer
Your child seems to have numerous, unexplained wounds or injuries
Tools like broken glass or razors are found in the trash or in your child’s room
You see increased isolation in your child as they avoid friends and social situations
Your child begins to spend more time alone, locked in their room or bathroom
Other symptoms are present, such as irritability, poor self-esteem or impulsivity

In most cases, the injuries will be found on the arms, legs or stomach because these are areas your teen can easily reach and cover up afterward. Your teen may also be visiting websites that talk about self-harm, another red flag for parents to seek help for their kids.

Reasons for Self-Injury

There are plenty of misconceptions about why teens self-harm. It is important to set the facts straight so you understand the possible reasons behind your child’s behavior. Most teens that injure themselves are not looking for attention, which is why they spend so much time and energy covering up the evidence. They are also not usually suicidal – in fact, they are looking for a way to survive rather than give up.

Teens that harm themselves intentionally often do so to escape intense feelings of sadness, loneliness or anxiety. The injury makes them feel something besides the dark emotions inside, which gives them a break from feeling so bad. They can even begin to crave the release self-injury offers, which is why this behavior can become addictive over time.

Treatment Options that Work

Treatment for self-injury generally requires a multi-faceted approach that includes individual and family therapy. In addition, many teens that self-injure also abuse substances, so they will require treatment for both disorders in order to see the best results. Treatment may take some time as your teen learns to replace harmful behaviors with healthy methods of dealing with negative feelings and emotions.

The staff at Visions Adolescent Treatment Centers works with teens struggling with self-harm as well as drug and alcohol abuse. To learn more about this disorder or get help for your teen, contact Visions today at 866-889-3665.