Sunday Scaries: What They Are and How to Cope with Sunday Night Anxiety
Its Sunday evening, you are supposed to be winding down, maybe watching your favorite show, engaging in a self-care activity, or maybe planning a little for the week ahead. But instead all your feel is…. dread. unease. Your mind is racing with the never ending to-do list, your chest is tight, you might have a knot in your throat. If this sounds like you, you are not alone. Welcome to the Sunday Scaries club.
What are the Sunday Scaries?
This is a phrase that has popped up sometime over the last couple of years to describe the dread or anxiety that creeps in on a Sunday night, with a new week ahead. Technically, I can not diagnose you with the Sunday Scaries… but it is a very real experience for many, especially those that juggle high stress jobs, burnout, major life transitions, and family matters. Sunday Scaries can look like
-Trouble relaxing on Sunday evenings
-A sense of panic about your to-do list, or things you did not get done over the weekend
-Feeling irritable or sad
-Physical Symptoms might even pop up - stomach aches, headaches, restlessness
Ok… So why does this keep happening?!
Good Question! lots of factors can contribute to the Sunday Scaries.
Lack of boundaries between work and life
In the Age of work following us home, being on our phones, it is hard to put it away and disconnect, and feel like you actually had a break. Seeing work emails come in on a Sunday, can make anticipating Monday feel like you are standing on the edge of a cliff.
2. Unfinished tasks or unclear expectations
If your upcoming week is filled with uncertainty, or an impossible mountain to climb, it is normal for your brain to start spinning into overdrive, and try to think its way into solutions.
3. Chronic Stress and Burnout
If your job (or caregiving, parenting etc) has been draining you for weeks or months, your nervous system is simply going to be unregulated and out of whack. You are going to be on high alert, and might even feel like you are in a trauma response (flight, fight, freeze, fawn).
4. Lack of restorative time
Restorative time is when your body and mind actually gets time to relax, and your heart rate properly slows. If you spent the weekend caring for others, maybe trying to “catch up” on work or prepare for a Monday meeting, running the endless list of errands, your mind and body did not get the proper rest it needed. Even if you were able to spend an hour or two on the couch.
So, now, you might be asking how do I ease the Sunday Scaries?
1.Name it Without Shame
Just identifying that you are feeling the sunday scaries can give the emotion less power. “I am feeling anxious about the week ahead” is more helpful than sitting there thinking “what is wrong with me?!”
2.Create a Sunday Wind-Down Ritual
We have all seen the instagram reels or tik toks with the “Sunday Reset” and hey, I am here for it! Just make sure that also includes space for restorative time. Give yourself a Sunday Ritual that is predicable each week, which will calm your nervous system. Some ideas include
-A warm shower or bath
-Quiet time spent journaling
-Screen-free time doing an enjoyable activity (reading, a craft) especially before bed
-Movement (think log walks in your favorite park, gentle yoga)
3.Just cant get the upcoming week out of your head? Preview it, then set it aside.
Glance at your calendar Sunday morning or early afternoon, plan your week out with top priorities, make a list of things that are taking up space in your head, then put it away. Its written out, you will not forget it, and it will be there for you Monday morning.
4. Practice BOUNDARIES (with yourself, and others)
Can you take your work email off your phone? Stop answering work texts and emails after 6pm during the week? Maybe you practice how frequently you are feeling things need to be “urgent” or an emergency, even if someone around you is making it feel that way. 9 times out of 10, the email response, answering a work call or text, can wait. Have you heard “why does it feel like I am being chased by a bear when answering an email” yeah.. lets work on that!
5. Talk about it
Although the “Sunday Scaries” is common and a lighter term, the true anxiety and stress under it is very real, and can feel very, very heavy. You do not need to carry all of that alone. Reach out and talk with your supports. A therapist can also help you untangle the root causes of your Sunday Scaries and help you find relief. Whether it is anixety, stress, burnout, depression, career misalignment, or something else. We are here for you.