Do you find yourself waiting all week for the weekend, then spending half of your weekend feeling the impending dread of going back to work? If that’s the case, then you’re not alone and you are experiencing what is popularly known as the Sunday Scaries.
Though the term Sunday Scaries is relatively new for many, the feeling certainly isn't. With #SundayScaries hitting nearly 350,000 posts on Instagram, this feeling of anxiety is a somewhat universal experience.
What are Sunday scaries?
The Sunday scaries are a form of anticipatory anxiety about the week ahead. For many people, this anxiety hits like clockwork every Sunday, disrupting the second half of the weekend as dread about going back to work slowly creeps up.
However, despite its name, the Sunday Scaries aren’t exclusive to just Sundays, depending on your schedule, they can occur on any day of the week. For example, if you have work or a class on a Thursday then you might feel the scaries on a Wednesday.
Some people feel this anxiety all day before working, rather others might just feel it in the evenings or it slowly builds up throughout the day.
According to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, 80% of those asked said that they experience the Sunday Scaries, with over 90% of Millennials and Gen Z saying that they feel it.
What are symptoms of Sunday Scaries?
The Sunday scaries can take form in a variety of ways. From a general feeling of unease building up throughout the day, to headaches, difficulty breathing and other anxiety symptoms.
Many also struggle to fall asleep on a Sunday night, unable to relax whilst thinking of the week ahead and everything that they had to do.
In some extreme cases, this sense of dread about the upcoming week can develop into anxiety and depression if it starts to deeply effect sleeping and eating habits.
What causes anxiety on Sundays?
This anxiety stems from worrying about the week ahead. Whether it’s a big meeting, an important test or a stressful client - we tend to anticipate these stressful situations well before they happen. Sometimes it can’t be narrowed down to anything in particular, but the feeling comes round weekly like clockwork.
How to deal with Sunday scaries
Have a to-do list
Creating a to-do list on a Sunday night for the Monday morning will help you feel more in control of the situation and puts your mind at ease, making it easier to fall asleep at night. This is particularly useful if you’re the type of person who worries about forgetting to complete tasks, as having it written down ensures that it gets done.
Treat yourself
Make Monday a day to look forward to. Whilst that sounds like a tall order, giving yourself something to look forward to on a Monday morning can help those Sunday Scaries seem not so scary. It doesn’t need to be anything extravagant or expensive - treating yourself to a coffee from your favourite coffee shop or a pastry from your local bakery, might just be the pick-me-up you need to tackle the rest of the week. This also helps you to associate Monday with something positive as opposed to negative and something to dread.
Meditation
Try some anti-anxiety meditation. If you find that the Sunday Scaries are becoming part of your routine, try to incorporate meditation to counterbalance this. Breathing techniques and meditation help to centre yourself and don’t allow for your mind wander to the anxieties of the upcoming week.
Take a break from work
Whilst it might be tempting, it’s important to fully switch off from any work-related tasks during the weekend. Even quickly checking emails or responding to a colleague, means that you are still in work mode, and we all need a break. If you fully switch off and relax during your weekends this might make it easier to get back into work refreshed after the weekend.
Have an evening routine
Developing a Sunday night routine can help to ease anxiety before bed. Relaxing by watching your favourite TV show, doing some self-care and cooking a good meal can help you feel more comfortable going into the new week.
Don't stay up too late
Get an early night before work. This one might be obvious but people who choose to stay up until the early hours of the morning, usually don't feel the best about going to work the next day. Give yourself the best chance to start the week with your best foot forward by getting enough sleep.
Keep busy during the day
Keep yourself busy on a Sunday. Of course you’re going to feel the dread of going back to work if you’re sat around doing nothing, but if you’re busy your mind will be elsewhere. Meet up with friends, go for a walk or go out for a meal and you’ll find the day quickly passes without a thought about the week ahead.
Be productive
Channel your anxiety and energy into something that will help you in the week. Completing tasks like meal prepping or a food shop can help you feel productive and ease the transition between the weekend and work.
Get your chores done ASAP
Don’t leave all of your mundane chores until Sunday night. Leaving chores until Sunday night will only make you feel more uneasy before work. It will also start the feeling of dread earlier on in the weekend as you know that you’ve got both chores and work ahead of you. So, get those chores out of the way so it’s one less thing to worry about.
Exercise
Another simple one but exercise is a great way to both distract yourself and it is proven to boost your mental health as it gives you a boost of serotonin. Aerobic exercises such as walking, running and swimming are particularly effective in boosting serotonin levels.
Assess the root cause
Whilst it is completely normal to feel the dread and unease about a busy working week ahead, sometimes this feeling can be narrowed down to something more specific. Consider whether there is a particular task or person that is increasing your anxiety and once you have identified this, it can be addressed more directly.
When to seek out more help on Sunday Scaries
If you find that your Sunday Scaries are starting to turn into something more, and are no longer just a general sense of anxiety brought on by the end of the weekend, it is important to seek out help.
If you're eating and sleeping habits are starting to be disrupted by this anxiety, take the time to open up to someone about how you're feeling. This could be in the form of therapy or reaching out to a family member first as they can help identify the causes of stress and help you handle them.