GOA students should be allowed to take mental health days.
School is extremely stressful, with constant academic pressure, strict deadlines and hours of work each day. A day off is the only thing that students can do themselves to relieve their stress.
With these constant pressures, even the most devoted students have felt a toll on their mental health.
In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 40 percent of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
Junior Leo Milch said, “I feel there is more pressure to do well in school, going to prestigious schools and having a life that is considered successful by society’s terms, causing anxiety and depression in students. Sometimes we just need a break.”
Unfortunately, many schools do not have clear policies to address this ongoing problem. This leads students to take matters into their own hands by using “mental health days.”
Mental health days are days when students stay home to rest, reduce stress and improve their emotional well-being. They are either pre-planned or they are used when needed.
Freshman Perri Mayer said, “I take mental health days to sleep in and relax. School and extracurriculars can cause fatigue and anxiety, and mental health days can help counteract that.”
For students like Perri, mental health days provide a break from schoolwork and give them time to do the things they enjoy. These moments to decompress provide much-needed relief for students.
For students in the LGBTQ+ community, these moments away from school are even more crucial. In 2023, the CDC found that 65 percent of LGBTQ+ high school students experienced suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
Despite these benefits, some students argue that taking academic breaks can create additional stress if used too frequently.
Junior Mia Eskin said, “While mental health days have helped me feel less stressed, if used too often, work piles up. That only worsens the stress that led you to take the break in the first place. Missing even one day of school can add extra stress due to missed assignments and make-up work.”
As mental health challenges among teens continue to rise, it is clear that students are searching for ways to cope within a demanding academic environment. While mental health days are not a perfect solution they offer students the chance to rejuvenate and reset.
Allowing GOA students to take designated and regulated mental health days would show that GOA values student well-being alongside academic excellence.
