We Need Mental Health Days

Psychiatric and psychological associations need to be more in the forefront of these kinds of changes. To date, we see more awareness about mental health problems from big pharma (not that there’s anything wrong with that) for commercial reasons than from mental health organizations. This needs to change.

Imagine an employee requesting a mental health day as a matter of course. As acceptability grew, we would become a nation that not only is more aware of mental disorders in and out of the workplace, but we also would begin to put the embarrassment and shame that so many people feel about mental health care, or as some say "going to the shrink," to rest. This would lead to looking at emotional problems in the same light as physical problems, be they big or little.

Dr. London, a psychiatrist with the New York University Langone Medical Center, has no disclosures. He can be reached at cpnews@elsevier.com.