When the Sunday Scaries Strike: How to Start Your Week Off Right
Imagine this: It’s Sunday evening. You’ve had a fun and fulfilling weekend. Maybe you spent time with friends, family, or pets or taking care of yourself by sleeping in or working on your hobbies. You’ve been living life to the fullest and trying your best not to think about the week day hustle. Except the sun is setting now, and feelings of dread and unease are invading your weekend peace. You most likely have been hit with a case of the Sunday Scaries. Unfortunately, your boss or family will not accept this diagnosis as a reason to sit the week out, so read on to explore more about the Sunday Scaries, what they are, why they happen, and most importantly, how you can effectively manage them.
What are the Sunday Scaries? Are They Even Real?
The Sunday Scaries refers to the feelings of anxiety, melancholy, and dread that many people get on Sunday as they start to think about their week ahead. You may notice it as a tightness in your jaw or chest, a racing heart when you think about the week ahead, or just a general urge to hide under the covers until Monday passes. Some people call it the “Sunday Blues” or “Sunday Syndrome”, but it all means the same phenomenon of starting to gear up for your week ahead and being met with a storm cloud of unpleasant emotions and sensations.
They may have a cutesy name, but the Sunday Scaries are, indeed, very real. According to a LinkedIn Survey, 80% of Americans feel worried about the week ahead on Sunday. Another study done at the University of Exeter found that many employees dread and feel stressed about the week ahead to the point of causing sleep disruptions on Sunday night.
Though dreading the work week may be a new phenomenon arising from changes in our cultural habits around employment, the experience of worrying and fearing something before it happens is a common psychological concept called “anticipatory anxiety”. This simply refers to the anxiety we feel before an event happens. It can apply to worry about a speaking event, a doctor’s appointment, and of course on Sunday night when the week ahead looms over us.
Why Am I Having the Sunday Scaries?
You may absolutely love your job, and still have bouts of the Sunday Scaries. They can flare up anytime your work week may be at odds with your weekend time. For example, maybe you had a restful, leisurely weekend doing all the things you love with the people you love, and jumping back into a busy work week feels stressful and challenging.
You can also experience the Sunday Scaries when you don’t like your job or have left unfinished work to get to on Monday morning. The thought of performing your job duties when you just had a break from them can feel like torture on a Sunday night. Working at a job you dislike can also make thinking about the week overwhelming and send your brain into a worry spiral.
Finally, sometimes your weekend may be behind your Sunday Scaries. Maybe you felt the pressure to do all the things in your free time. You were jumping from hobby to chore to event and are exhausted. Or you didn’t feel like you did enough as your friend on Instagram and you feel like you wasted the free time and now, you’re stuck returning to work. Weekends that don’t meet our expectations can also make it harder to expect the reality of going back into the work week.
Regardless of why you’re having the Sunday Scaries, the good news is that there are many ways you can manage those feelings of stress and anxiety and begin to enjoy your entire weekend again. Read on for more tips that the therapists at Reflect Therapy in Houston, Texas have used with many of their clients.
Keep Boundaries Between Work and Life: In our fast paced world, the lines between work and home have become more blurred in recent years. It takes just a second to check your work email from your phone on Saturday, but that can keep you from being truly present and enjoying your time off. When you leave work on Friday, make a conscious effort to actually leave work there. That may require an away message on your email or conversations about boundaries with coworkers who love to text you on Sundays but do what it takes to put that boundary in place and disconnect from your job.
Plan Ahead: Similarly, before you leave work on Friday, take time to set up your Monday to-do list and make sure your calendar is all set for the week ahead. This means when you come to work Monday Morning everything is ready for you, and you don’t have to spend weekend time thinking about your to-do list or upcoming meetings. You’re fully able to enjoy the weekend.
Sunday Funday-But Make it Relaxing: Life is busy and whether you spend your weekends with friends, family or pets, it’s important to carve out some quiet time on Sunday for relaxing and recharging. This could be simply taking a bath, reading a chapter of a book, meditating for 5 minutes, or going for a run. Whatever you enjoy that connects you to yourself and leaves you feeling refreshed will improve your overall mood and stress levels.
Limit Screen Time on Sundays: Using your screens less on Sunday keeps your more plugged into the current moment and away from work reminders, comparing your weekend to others, not getting to enjoy your actual free time. More blue light from screens is also connected to a decrease in sleep quality, which can also affect your Sunday mood.
Create a Soothing Sunday Bedtime Ritual: Having a consistent bedtime is helpful for improving your sleep quality overall, thus improving your mood and mental health. Take some time on Sundays to give yourself extra care at bedtime. Maybe putting on some soothing music or sounds, a splash of Lavender oil, or enjoying a warm cup of tea before bedtime. Find a bedtime routine that works for you and stick to it.
Prep for the Day Ahead: Spend just a few minutes Sunday evening getting things ready to make your morning go smoother. This could be packing a lunch or laying out your clothes for the work day. This sense of preparation can also give you a feeling of readiness and control for the week ahead, and you won’t be rushing around in the morning trying to find everything.
Professional Help: If you find you’ve tried these tips and you’re still experiencing Sunday Scaries, or they continue to be an overwhelming and consistent feeling in your life, it can be helpful to talk to a therapist like the ones at Reflect Therapy in Houston, Texas. Working with a therapist can help you find out the root cause of your Sunday Scaries and come up with a solution to help you manage them and enjoy your weekend and work week again.
So, if it’s 6:30 on a Sunday night and you find yourself suddenly tense and dreading the morning, take a deep breath. You aren’t alone in the Sunday Scaries, and through a little bit of planning, self-care and the support of friends or a qualified therapist like those at Reflect Therapy, you will be able to take back your weekend and enjoy every moment!