In my decades in working in TV news, I never once had more than a week off from work.

When I first started working in TV news, you needed to work at a station for a year before you would accrue any time off.

Working here at FTVLive, I haven’t taken a single day off in 7+ years and that includes every weekend and holiday.

After reading about WCPO (Cincy) Reporter Jake Ryle, I think I need some time off.

Back on October 4th, Ryle posted to his social media that he was taking an extended leave from the station, due to his mental health.

This is what he posted:

Here we are in the month on November and Ryle has returned to work and says he feels great.

"To be able to take this length of time (off), I feel like I'm back to my old self – or a better version of myself," says Ryle.

Ryle says that struggled to get out of bed for his 3:30-11:45 p.m. shift at the station.

He says he drank too much alcohol at times. He thought he could "push through hurdles by ignoring them." After he put off seeking help and "waiting for the right time," he realized that "there's no time like right now. Every minute matters," he wrote four weeks ago.

Life is better today.

"I'm attending therapy for the first time, which was the most difficult decision I'd ever had to make, to to get my life back on track," he told me.

He'll continue weekly therapy sessions after returning to work.

He does send a message that you need to take care of you, because you know no one else will.

Here at FTVLive, we understand what Ryle is saying and we know that at some point it might be a good idea if we take some time off.

But, I don’t see that happening in the near future as the news about TV news must go on.

H/T WVXU