General Discussion

In highschool I would've never thought about doing it but in college you get a certain amount of days you can afford to miss before you fail (usually 3-4 depending on the course and teacher).

College is stressful and honestly there were days I needed a break for my mental health so I took full advantage of those days. I'd space them out to last throughout the semester. However I would have to be strategic, not planning them on days of large projects or tests. Mental health days are fine and dandy but you need discipline not to abuse them and to keep up your grades. Keeping in communication with your teachers is also key. Even if you're making excuses you should email them to at least let them know ahead of time you won't be there and to ask them what you'd be missing.

While skipping can be helpful in some cases it's a double edged sword if you're not careful. Like I said you need discipline to use it and not abuse it. Habits of skipping can be formed and it can tank your grades which results in the money you spent on those classes being wasted. I've also seen people who've formed said skipping habits indulge in those habits even at work and it's negatively effected them.

So TL:DR Skipping can be helpful if you need a mental break but you need a good bit of discipline so you don't abuse it. Also even if you skip you should inform your teachers ahead of time of the absence and stay on top of any missed work.

I'm possibly not the best person to ask. I always managed to miss school about twice as much as it was allowed, and never got in trouble for it. Though I had migraines in school, so if it was bad, I wasn't going. And I could always ask my neurologist for a note, since she knew how bad they really were. :x

But mental days are needed. Especially as you get older.

I never found school really...fair, seeing as I could've just taken a test and got my highschool degree, but wasn't allowed to because my parents just said no. I took the practice test and passed. But...=\

So really, yes, just take a mental day if you need it. Kids aren't supposed to go to a place for 8 hours a day, being poured information every second, five days out of the week. It'll do ya good.

It is necessary sometimes. Today's society is really white-knuckle, "just get through it" kind of mentality which is very damaging. I have skipped school before at different levels when I feel like I couldn't handle it and just needed time to rest and catch up on things. There's no point if you go to school but can't retain any information because you're too exhausted to focus or remember. You'll just have wasted a day and not gained anything from it.

You have to be strict with yourself though. Recognise when you want to skip, and when you need to. If there's something important, try to make it and focus for that one thing.

There's other reasons to skip besides mental exhaustion. When I was in a specialist school learning 3D art, we were asked to go to school downtown (typically an hour or more travel time one way for all of us) for "self practice" which meant you had to sit there and do your work but had no teacher to help you if you needed it because they were all busy with other classes or other jobs, so my class just didn't show up for these sessions since it's a waste of time and money for public transport, and carrying a heavy laptop and all your tool hurt physically. We did go for all lectures though.

If you do skip a day, do make sure you can catch up on work.

In college, three times of skipping class without eligible excuses, I will get yeeted out of the course. No course, no credits, if that course is compulsory I have to take it again the next semester, all the time I spent on the course this semester will be wasted. I never dare to do such a thing, if I don't feel like having the course I can do other things on class without disrupting others.
However college here is not expensive (less than 4000rmb/566usd per semester), in my university cafeterias even receive subsidies from the gov so food is half the price as other cafeterias in my city. But it IS difficult to get into a good one, I'd better cherish the chance.

I won't do it even in middle school or high school, the study pace is even faster than college(for now) and I don't want to miss a course.

I will only do it if I feel really discomfortable or stressful to the point it damages my physical and mental health. I will never skip school just for fun or a rebellion, or I will have much bigger regrets

It's probably different outside my country, here education is viewed as the most effective way to change one's life, people don't want to get forever stuck in underdeveloped regions.

When I was younger, my mother was pretty cool with me saying "I need a day off". Usually because there was nothing going on and I wasn't feeling good anyways. I wouldn't have taken a test day off or anything like that but mom was lenient and let me stay home.

Sadly, in High School it became a bad habit. There was one class I just loathed. Since it was one of the lunch periods, that meant I could just hang out with my friends in the lunchroom.

Then I started skipping other classes because it was just too easy. It really was an easy way to slide down a bad path. A few days here and there for yourself is ok, especially if you can see results in recovery but don't do what I did.

Don't start. Seriously.
It was just as bad in college.

I really wish that we as a society were a little less nose-to-the-grindstone mentality. I'd really thrive better with a 4 day work week and 6 hours a day, not 8.

I can't even imagine skipping school not because I'm sick. How do you guys even do it?

If you do skip, be careful you don't get into the loop of "I skipped because I'm anxious/ nervous" and "I'm anxious because I skipped" (I've done this a few times...)

If it's "I don't want to get out of bed :(((((" then get your butt outside and go to class!! If it's "I feel awful physically/mentally and if I drag myself to class nothing productive will happen" then stay home and do what you need to do. Sometimes you need to pick your battles

If you do skip, communicate with your teachers and peers! Ask them what you missed so you're not going into the next day blind