Navigating your mental health decisions

When you’re struggling with your own mental wellness at work or at home, it can be difficult to make informed well-being decisions and to know where to start. Unfortunately, Americans are reporting worsening mental health — in 2025, the percentage of adults who describe their mental health as excellent has dropped below 30% for the first time.¹ Read on for some tips to help navigate your mental health decisions.

1. It’s okay to ask for more

If you’re struggling with your mental health, searching for an in-network provider and then waiting for availability can feel like a huge barrier to the wellness resources you need. Good mental health resources should include:

• Immediate access: You can be matched with mental health providers, exercises, or tools that are right for you to quickly receive support.

• Personalized care: A wide-reaching network of mental health providers will mean that you’ll have access to a diverse set of solutions, so you can receive the care you need at various points of your well-being journey.

If you’re working and your employer doesn’t offer these benefits, it’s okay to ask for them. You may be surprised at how receptive your HR team might be. After all, it’s in your organization’s best interest if you’re healthy and productive at work.

But if you’re not currently employed with benefits, or if this conversation feels daunting, you can keep it simple and consider the following:

• Ask a friend to take care of the kids so you can take a mental health day to help you manage burnout, get some sleep, do something you love, or just re-center yourself.

• Ask for a yoga or meditation seminar to be brought into the office. Or, if you’re at home, join an online meditation program whenever you have a free moment. Many meditation centers offer free and frequent classes.

• Use your vacation time. One survey reported that 23% of US workers didn’t take a single vacation day in the past year.² Scheduling time off can help increase creativity and productivity while also reducing burnout.³ Most states limit the amount of vacation you can roll over into the next year. So, take the time, even if it simply means a staycation.

2. Take some deep breaths: Use meditation and relaxation exercises throughout the day

Meditation is considered a type of mind-body complementary care medicine.⁴ During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. Research suggests that such mindfulness exercises can help reduce stress, ease anxiety, improve sleep, and help manage depression.⁵

The key to meditation is consistency. Daily meditation practice is what makes it effective. It doesn’t have to be perfect; you don’t need a meditation studio, a special pillow, or incense. Meditation can take place wherever you are. Try 10 minutes when you’re still in bed in the morning, while you’re on a walk, or when you’re sitting still in the school pickup line.

Another tip — you don’t have to do it yourself. You don’t have to set a mantra or guide your own inhalations. There are many apps and wearables in the meditation space — and often free or offered at a minimal monthly subscription rate.

3. Do some quick research: Discover the well-being initiatives offered by your employer

The offerings your employer provides may be more plentiful and more varied than you expect. For instance, some employers offer sleep improvement programs, pediatric-focused mental health support, digital CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) apps, and teletherapy.

Remember that mental health coverage in your health insurance plan is typically covered at the same amount as physical health coverage. If you’re provided unlimited doctor visits for a chronic condition like diabetes, then you are also offered unlimited visits for a mental health condition such as depression or schizophrenia.⁶

Check out your company’s intranet or your description of plan benefits; one or both should include information on behavioral health services or coverage for mental health and anxiety disorders. If you still can’t find a clear answer, ask your HR department or call your insurance company directly.

Don’t hesitate to be a trailblazer! If you’re struggling with how to manage your mental wellness, so is someone else. Start a walking club with your neighbors (this could be adults only or with kids in their strollers), gather a group to get a private meditation instructor, or simply share therapist names and numbers. As you navigate the ins and outs of mental wellness, remember that it’s completely normal and that you’re not alone.