We’ve all been there. Your boss drops a project on your desk that was due yesterday. Neither you nor your son understand how to divide fractions. You spent an hour online and on the phone with customer service trying to get a digital coupon to work, only to have the item sell out (this exact scenario actually happened during the writing of this article). Sounds like it’s time for a mental health break.
The state of your mental health affects your relationships, how you make choices, and the way in which your body handles stress. Taking breaks allows your brain and body to get the necessary recharge it needs to keep going. According to the World Health Organization, anxiety and depressive disorders cost more than a trillion dollars globally in lost productivity each year – so mental health breaks are also fiscally responsible!
Recharging offers a much-needed break to pause, regroup, and come back with greater levels of energy and a fresh, less-stressed perspective. Read on for a little coping inspiration:
Let It All Out
When you reach the boiling point-of-no-return, it’s time to take charge and steer your emotions in a productive direction, rather than one that will land you in jail. Check out XtremeHopp’s Smash Room in Johns Creek. They offer packages ranging from glass items to electronics, vinyl records, “bombs” to throw, and more, all yours to destroy. Have something in mind that you have always wanted to smash to smithereens? Bring it in! Sure, you could create your own rage room, but then you’re breaking your own stuff and have to clean up the mess after – which would, arguably, produce more rage.
Xtreme Hopp
5805 STATE BRIDGE ROAD | Johns Creek
xtremehopp.com
Endorphin Therapy
“Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t.” Take the advice of Elle Woods, Esq., and engage your abs while engaging in some kicking and punching (though not the person who made the mental health break necessary). 9Round offers a nine-station, 30-minute kickbox fitness classes that will reduce your rage while building your muscles. There are no set class times; just show up whenever the need arises. A trainer will guide you through the exercises and safe punching techniques.
9Round
310 Town Center Avenue | Suwanee
Good Old-Fashioned Relaxation
If your idea of a break is more on the calming side, trying throwing a pot (no, not like in the rage room). The Hudgens Center for Art & Learning offers pottery wheel pot throwing classes for novices as well as the experienced. Smooth breathing techniques, loose muscles, and good posture is all that’s required. Experienced teachers and local artists will guide you through this extremely therapeutic art form that – bonus! – results in a new pot, as well as lowered stress levels.
Hudgens Center for Art & Learning
6400 Sugarloaf Pkwy. | Duluth