Have you ever felt nervous or afraid to take time off from work to look after your mental health?

Marisa Kabas, a writer and political strategist, recently posed a similar question on Twitter (推特网), inspired by Simone Biles, who stopped taking part in Olympic events this week to protect her mental health.

“It was so shocking to so many people,” Ms. Kabas said on Wednesday in an interview. “Because the whole mentality (心态， 思维方式) is to be strong, and push through the pain.”

If you’re unlikely to use sick days for mental health reasons or are scared of being punished for doing so, I experts say it’s time to start thinking about how to protect your mental well-being. You should take a “sad day”.

There’s no official definition for a “sad day,” also known as a mental health day. Typically, it is paid time off drawn from sick days(or personal days) to help employees who aren’t feeling like their usual selves, offering an opportunity to refresh their minds, do something meaningful; or simply take a break from daily stressors. The “sad day” is only a temporary (暂时的) fix, and not meant to address deeper problems, but sometimes a little time away can make a big difference.

In most situations, just say that you need to take a sick day, and leave it at that, the experts advised. “I think the safe advice is not to be honest and frank,” said Andrew Kuller, a clinical psychologist. Not everybody values mental health, he added, and “unless you’re close with your boss, it is a risk. But say you work at the type of organization where you can tell the truth without fear of being punished. In that case, you still don’t need to reveal why you want to take a sick day.”

Whatever you do, don t spend the mental health day feeling guilty. So instead of thinking, “I should be at work right now, try to reframe your thinking in a more positive way. For example, try saying: “It would be great; if I could be at work right now. But today is a day that I need to take care of myself, so that’s what I’m going to do.”

【小题1】, depending on age, family size and other characteristics , there are still some easy things that all shoppers can do to keep more money in their bank accounts.

【小题2】

When you shop, a best way to save money is to have a plan in mind to help you avoid impulse（冲动）purchases (购买). For instance, you might leave your credit cards at home and only carry the exact amount of cash that you will need for your planned purchase. Some shoppers agree to discuss any purchases over a certain dollar amount with their spouses（配偶）first.

Know When to Pay for Quality

Sometimes the best way to save money in the long terms to spend a little more money right now.

【小题3】. A high-quality pair of shoes will last longer than a bargain and prevent foot pain. Leaner cuts of meat and organic produce provide health benefits for your family.

Buy Secondhand

Check classified ads, thrift stores and garage sales for used clothing, toys, furniture, and much more available at a part of their original cost. 【小题4】, check out groups like Freecycle where members offer unwanted items for free to anyone willing to pick them up.

Borrow Instead of Buy

If you're only going to use something once, try to borrow it instead of spending your money on it.

【小题5】. Swap(交换) books with a friend. Check out the resources at your local library . You’ll also be reducing disorder in your home.

Have you ever read back something you’ve written and felt like it’s not quite as strong as you’d like? One possible reason is that you overuse crutch words (拐杖词). So, what are crutch words?

Crutch words are words a speaker or a writer uses without knowing it. They are usually not needed and don’t add to the story. If someone is speaking, you’ll recognize a crutch word as a pause, or if the speaker uses “um” or “ah” a lot. Crutch words in the conversation also include favorite words and phrases, such as “you know”, “anyway”, “just”, “all right” and “like”. They only give the speaker time to think before they move on to the next idea.

For writers, crutch words operate in much the same way, but instead of a pause, they’re filler words we use because we haven’t thought the sentence through enough. They’re words that are easy. They flow naturally into the space that could easily be occupied by a slight rewriting of a sentence or a different word choice.

Now that you know what crutch words are, the question is how you can get rid of them. It’s not always easy to notice your own writing quirks (怪癖), so it might take a bit of hard work to find what yours are.

The next time you sit down to read over your writing, look carefully for repeated words or phrases. Mark them so they’re easy to find later. Look at both an old and a new piece of writing and compare the two. Are there phrases or words you use a lot that are common to both? If yes, then you’ve found your crutch words.

Once you’ve known your crutch words, they’re easy to cut out later. But don’t be afraid if you find them in your first draft. Eliminating those words is exactly what revision is for.