Mental Health Leave- The Line Between Rest and Retreat

In recent years, conversations about mental health have moved from the margins to the mainstream. More and more people are becoming aware of how emotional distress, anxiety, burnout, and depression affect not just our mood, but our ability to work. Thankfully, the idea of taking time off work to care for our mental health is becoming more accepted. As we grow more comfortable with the idea of mental health leave, there’s an important balance we need to talk about, one that sits quietly between healing and hiding.

The Healing Space of Time Off

There are times in life when the world simply becomes too heavy to carry; when panic attacks, grief, depression, or chronic stress take us to the edge of our capacity. In these moments, continuing to show up to work can feel impossible, and stepping back may not just be helpful, but necessary. Time off work can give the nervous system space to settle, allowing us to come back more present, resourced and whole. There is absolutely no shame in needing that space, it can be a deeply self-aware and brave thing to do.

Your Rights in the UK

In the UK, employees have a right to take time off work due to illness, including mental health struggles, with a GP’s fit note. Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) is available for up to 28 weeks, and some employers offer more generous occupational sick pay schemes.

However, the benefits system is shifting, and it’s something we need to keep an eye on. Recent changes to the UK welfare system include tightening eligibility for long-term sickness benefits and increased assessments through the Universal Credit and Work Capability Assessments. The changes focus on assessing health impacts on daily living rather than capacity to work, therefore are placing a greater emphasis on getting people “back to work” even when they’re still recovering. While this can feel like pressure, it also invites a meaningful reflection, when does rest become reinforcement of the belief that we can’t cope?

The Gentle Trap of Avoidance

For some people, the longer we’re away from work, the more unfamiliar and overwhelming it becomes to go back. This is something I faced after the sudden death of my partner. I was a support worker at the time and I took leave from work because I did not have the capacity to support my service users. I needed time and space to feel my way through grief and shock. This allowed me to build back my sense of self and re-connect with my interests, needs and motivation to carry on living. While my time off work was initially protective, once I built back my sense of self, I became terrified of going back to work. Having never shied away from hard work before, I began saying to myself, “what if I can’t wake up in time”, “what if I need to sit down but there’s no space”, “what if I’m too tired to speak”, “what if I make a mistake and someone gets hurt?”

Even when avoiding work is initially necessary, it can start to quietly confirm the belief that we can’t do it. That we’re not capable, not resilient, not enough, and that belief can become a bigger barrier than the original difficulty.

Sometimes, work is hard and we can do it. Sometimes, the challenge of getting up, getting dressed, and showing up is actually the thing that helps us feel stronger. Not always, but sometimes, and learning to tell the difference is part of healing.

Compassion and Curiosity

If you’re thinking about taking time off, or you’re on leave right now, try asking yourself this, “am I resting or avoiding?” “Am I healing, or hiding from the part of me that fears I can’t cope? There's no judgment in the answer, just an opportunity to be honest and kind with yourself.

Healing doesn’t always mean stepping away entirely. Sometimes it means adjusting how we work, speaking to someone about reducing hours or responsibilities, or finding meaning in small tasks that remind us we still have value, even when we don’t feel at our best.

A Message for the Middle Ground

This post isn’t a call to push through pain. It’s a call to stay connected to your agency. To know that while space and rest are important, they are most powerful when they’re used to support your return to life, not escape from it.

Sometimes, we can work, it’s just difficult. Doing difficult things with support, care, and the right adjustments can be the very thing that rewrites the story from, “I can’t work” to, “I can work, and it can be difficult for me.”

Let’s keep talking about mental health leave, not just as something we take out of life, but as something that brings us back in.