Take a Mental Health Day

Sometimes taking a mental health day off that’s specifically geared toward stress relief and burnout prevention–is the best thing you can do for yourself. While one day might not solve heavy underlying problems that lead to burnout, a mental health day can provide a much-needed break to pause, regroup, and come back with greater levels of energy and a fresh, less-stressed perspective. Whatever stressors you face, these tips can help you take a mental health day and make the most of it.

 

Take A Day


 

Ideally, if you can schedule a day off ahead of time, ensuring that you’ve taken steps to rearrange your workload or find a replacement for the day, this is the best way to do it, so you’re not feeling stress about taking the day off. However, if you wake up in the morning and just feel that you can’t face the stress of the day, this may be a good time to take a mental health day and make the most of it. Saturdays work well, too. While a “traditional” mental health day generally includes taking a day off from work, it’s not necessary to call in sick to take a day to focus on stress relief. 


 

Decide What You Need Most


 

Sometimes this one is a no-brainer–if you’re exhausted, your body will be screaming that it needs to rest; if you feel you can’t face another day of hard work, you may just need to have some fun. However, if you’re feeling overwhelmed, you may not be as aware of your needs. Take a minute and really reflect: would you benefit the most from some tension relief? Or from making a few changes that will relieve stress in the future? Some time with a loved one? Or just a change of scenery?

 

If You Need To Relax

 

Taking a mental health day often means taking time out to relax. That can mean watching t.v. in pajamas for hours or puttering around the house and doing nothing, and as long as this isn’t an everyday thing, that’s fine. However, some activities can take a little front-end effort and feel immensely relaxing once they’re completed, like taking a walk in nature, attending a yoga class, swimming at the gym, or getting a massage.  

Hepatitis C Case Linked to Oklahoma Dentist’s Office

Hepatitis C Case Linked to Oklahoma Dentist’s Office

An investigation into an Oklahoma dentist accused of potentially exposing patients to disease confirmed one case of patient-to-patient hepatitis C transmission, health officials said Wednesday.

 

A total of 89 of W. Scott Harrington’s patients tested positive for hepatitis C, but at this point only the one case has been directly tied to his dental practice in suburban Tulsa, officials said.

 

Four cases of HIV were also found in his patients; the CDC is conducting genetic testing to determine whether those cases are tied to the dental office.

“This is the first documented report of patient-to-patient transmission of hepatitis C virus associated with a dental setting in the United States,” state epidemiologist Dr. Kristy Bradley said. “While dental procedures are generally safe, this reinforces the importance of adhering to strict infection control procedures in dental settings.”State health investigators shut down Harrington’s dental practice in March — and asked 7,000 of his patients to be tested for hepatitis and HIV — after health officials found sterilization and other infractions at the oral surgeon’s offices.

 

Investigators observed “unauthorized, unlicensed” employees using IVs to sedate patients and improper handling of needles. The drug cabinet was also rife with issues, they said.

 

“I will tell you that when … we left, we were just physically kind of sick,” Susan Rogers, executive director of the Oklahoma Board of Dentistry, told CNN earlier this year. “That’s how bad it was, and I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff over the years.”

The dentistry board launched its probe after one of Harrington’s patients came down with hepatitis C. The Oklahoma Public Health Laboratory has since completed testing for 4,202 of his patients. An unknown number of patients also sought testing though their private health providers, health officials said.

Scores of Tulsa dental patients tested for hepatitis, HIV exposure

Harrington voluntarily surrendered his dental license on March 20.

 

Hepatitis C is a contagious liver disease that can lead to liver failure and death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Approximately 70% to 80% of people living with the virus do not have any symptoms. Hepatitis B is a similar liver disease that can range from a mild illness to a serious, chronic condition.

 

Hepatitis is of particular concern for the Baby Boomer generation — people born between 1945 and 1965. This population is five times more likely to have hepatitis C than other generations, the CDC says. More than 55% of Harrington’s dental patients who have been identified as having hepatitis C were over the age of 50, the Tulsa Health Department reports.