TIME TO TAKE A

MENTAL HEALTH
DAY?
1. Lead-in Discuss the questions with a partner

1. Do you think the same importance is given to mental health as our

physical health?
2. How are mental and physical health connected?
3. A lot of athletes have spoken about their mental health and have taken
time off competing. Do you think this is helping to normalize talking about
mental health?
4. Do you think modern society increases the likelihood of mental health
problems?
5. What affects your mental health on a daily basis?
6. What do you do to maintain or improve your mental health?
7. When people feel physically sick, they are allowed to take a sick day off
work. Should people be allowed to take a mental health day if they feel
emotionally unwell?

Feeling emotionally unwell. Choose the correct option to

2. Vocabulary complete the phrases in bold.

1. I feel down/up about not getting that job; I thought I really nailed the
interview.
2. He's been feeling a bit yellow/blue since his girlfriend left him.
3. Everyone was in low/high spirits because of the rainy weather.
4. Many people feel overwhelmed/underwhelmed at work when they
are assigned a lot of complex tasks.
5. She's a bit down in the dumps/trash because she failed one of her
exams.
6. If you keep working nights and weekends, you're going to get burned
out/down.

Which 4 expressions mean sad, unhappy:

Which expression means exhausted because of too much work:

Which word means "feel that you have too much to manage":
3. Vocabulary Find phrasal verbs in the sentences that mean:
A) to suddenly become angry: ....................................
B) to continue despite difficulties: ....................................
C) to be able use something in a way that brings good results:
.............................
D) to fight or battle with: ....................................
E) to sleep until late: ....................................
F) to make sure someone is ok: ....................................

1. My job is challenging and overwhelming at times, but I just have to

power through as there is no one who can substitute me.
2. Work is so frustrating right now that I have no patience left when I
get home and I often blow up at people for no good reason.
3. I can't remember the last time I had the chance to sleep in - I miss
the days when I could stay in bed until 11 o'clock.
4. I have great co-workers - they always check in on me if I've called in
sick.
5. A lot of people struggle with depression and anxiety but they are
afraid to talk about it.
6. I can't tap into my creativity or come up with solutions if I am feeling
burned out,

Discuss the sentences with a partner, saying whether or not

they are true for you or if you agree with them. Give more
information or examples.

4. Practice Complete the sentences with the correct phrasal verb from
activity 3.

1. Art is a great way to .................................... your child's imagination and

creativity.
2. We're short-staffed at the moment, but we'll just have to
.................................... to get the project finished on time.
3. I would love to meet up tomorrow for brunch, shall we say at 11.30? I
want to .....................................
4. Before I meet you tomorrow, I need to .................................... my
grandmother to make sure she's feeling OK.
5. My dad .................................... when he saw the electricity bill.
5. Speaking Pre-listening discussion.

What can cause employee burnout?

How does not being in a good emotional state affect
productivity and performance?
How should a company ensure the emotional well-being of
the employees?

You are going to watch a video Are You Okay? | How to take a
6. Listening mental health day. Answer the questions below.

Video:
1. Are mental health days something new?

2. What has changed in the past few years?

3. What does 34% refer to?

4. What are some of the signs that we may need a mental health day?

5. How should you spend your mental health day? Take notes for each
of the points below
a) physically take a mental health break:

b) catch up on errands:

c) have an exploration day

What do you think of the idea of mental health days?

How would you spend a mental health day?
 Look at the 2 extracts from the video and answer the
7. Grammar
questions:

1. It's not really a new thing. However, before we just used to lie
about it and say we were physically sick.
2. We are used to checking in with other people, but how often are
we used to checking in with ourselves?

Which grammatical structure:

is used to say that something is normal for us?:
is used to talk about past habits/repetitive actions in the past?:

What form of the verb is used after:

be used to:
used to:

What is the negative form of:

be used to:
used to:

For habits in the present, we use "usually".

Example: I usually play tennis on Sundays.

If something is in the process of becoming normal for us, we use "get

used to + noun/verb (in gerund).
Example: I moved to New York 1 month ago and I am getting used to the
noise in big cities.

8. Practice Find and correct the mistake in each sentence.

1. When I started my first job, I had to be used to waking up early every

day.
2. I didn't used to drink coffee but now I can't function without it.
3. I used to swim 3 times a week and I love it! It gives me energy and
helps me get through a tough day.
 Talk about:
Things you used to do at your last job that you no longer do.
Things that other people find difficult, but you are used to doing.
Things you had to get used to during the pandemic.
How COVID has changed the workplace.

9. Speaking Debate.

Should employees be allowed to take paid mental health days?

Student A: You believe employees should be allowed to take paid

mental health days, when they feel that they need them, without a
doctor's note.
Before you start the debate, write down a few arguments you can use:

Student B: You believe that if employees are allowed to take mental

health days, they are going to simply use that policy as an excuse to
not come to work without really needing them.
Before you start the debate, write down a few arguments you can use:
10. Reflection What would you like to take from this lesson?
and feedback Complete the table below. After that your teacher will give
you some feedback.

A) New vocabulary: B) Pronunciation: C) Error correction:

write 5 (or more!) write the words from write the mistakes your
words or expressions this lesson that you teacher corrected
from this lesson you find difficult to (e.g. expressions you
would like to pronounce. translate from your
remember and use in language that are actually
the future. different in English;
prepositions etc.)

1. ..................................
2. ..................................
3. ...................................
4. ....................................
5. ....................................

Research one of the topics below.

11. Homework
Report your findings to your teacher in the next class.

1. Benefits of mental health days

2. How to prevent employee burnout
3. How to improve your emotional well-being

12. Keep Keep learning outside of the classroom!

1. Pre-
learning! To reinforce and enrich the vocabulary from this class, check the
listening. "Additional resources" section (videos and articles) here:

LINK TO ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES