What are the Sunday Scaries?

For some people, the so-called “Sunday Scaries” is an experience that makes them question their entire existence. It's sometimes accompanied by laying in bed all day and regretting past decisions or wondering if you'll ever get out from under this dark cloud called Sunday afternoon.

These negative thoughts that make a weekly appearance in people's heads are pretty common. In fact, in a 2018 survey conducted on 1,017 adults, 80 percent of the surveyors said they experienced Sunday night anxiety. And while you may know that it's happening to plenty of people, it doesn't help the stress and sadness you may feel every week.

 A few reasons behind Sunday Scaries include:

  • Having to say goodbye to the weekend (e.g. rest time)

  • Hyper-focusing on upcoming work meetings.

  • Checking work email early only to find that it's already full.

  • Dwelling on things that happened in the past.

  • COVID-19

  • Noticeable changes in the climate

  • Current events & politics

While you can't change everything you're dreading, you can make your Sundays start to feel better with these small changes: 

Set some time aside to meditate.

Set some time aside to meditate. Mediation has many benefits that can help combat the Sunday Scaries, and they include stress reduction, enhanced self-awareness, and improved sleep—all things that will help you start your week on a positive note. Something that I’ve seen many of my patients benefit from are guided meditation audio tracks, podcasts, apps, and videos.

Here’s one you can try for free:

You can find more meditation videos that you can access for free on my YouTube channel.

Get organized and plan for the week ahead.

When I was in college, I took Cornell-style notes, which helped me reflect on and summarize what I was learning at that moment. As I transitioned out of undergrad—balancing grad school and work—I continued to use this notetaking style, especially finding it helpful on Fridays to summarize all the things I'd done during the week and write out a list of the pending items for the following week. I found that this eased my own Sunday Scaries, and it might help ease yours too.

Keep a feelings notebook to track how you feel.

Owning your emotions and being present in what you're currently going through is good for you, but you want to know what can help strengthen this insight? Keeping track of those emotions. Social media isn't wrong about journaling being a path to success and wealth, as studies have shown that it can effectively reduce feelings of anxiety and depression (two things that add to your emotional wealth and success).

Here are a few journals that might help you start your path of expressive writing:

Takeaways

The feeling of dread that makes its weekly appearance every Sunday could be a product of the odd times we're living coupled with personal worries. But instead of letting this feeling take over your entire night, you can acknowledge it, accept the fact that you are feeling it, and make small changes to combat it moving forward.

If you're looking for additional help and considering therapy, I'm happy to offer you a free 30 min consultation. Click below to book a time.

Dr. ESunday Scaries, Anxiety