Sunday Scaries: What Your Sunday Anxiety Is Really Telling You

It’s 2pm on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. You’ve just arrived home from brunch with the girls, and you’re lounging on the sofa, half-watching the latest Real Housewives of whichever city you prefer and half-scrolling through TikTok, when all of a sudden, an intense feeling of dread drops into the pit of your stomach.

The Sunday Scaries have arrived.

Knowing when it’s normal and when it’s an issue

It’s normal to feel a little bit of “ugh” at the thought of Monday (especially when you’re a project manager and you know you’ll be logging into 9am meetings, project issues and demanding questions from stakeholders – enough to give anyone the shivers), and it’s even normal to get the Sunday blues every so often when you know you have a busy or stressful week ahead.

What’s not normal is feeling intense dread every single Sunday, to the point where it ruins the last day of your weekend.

So let’s work out why you’re experiencing the Sunday scaries, and how to navigate them.

Reason 1: you hate your job

The number one reason that you start feeling that sense of foreboding on a Sunday evening is simple: you don’t like your job.

Perhaps it’s the people, perhaps it’s stretched resources, perhaps you simply don’t enjoy the work you do anymore, but if you’re ending every weekend avoiding going to bed because you can’t stomach the thought of waking up to yet another Monday, something needs to change.

You have two steps here: understand what exactly you don’t like about your job and if there’s a possibility to change it, and if there isn’t – it’s time to freshen up your LinkedIn profile, dust off your CV and re-download the Indeed app.

Reason 2: work is taking over your life

Whether you’re working towards a big deadline, trying to get a promotion or just have a lot on at the moment, when you spend too much of your time working, and thinking about work when you aren’t working, it’s natural to start feeling resentful.

In this case, I’d recommend consciously adding more non-work things into your life. When work gets busy it’s so easy to close your laptop and scroll all night, say no to social events and allow your step count to dwindle to double figures, but this is exactly when you need to be proactive in making plans.

Reason 3: burnout

But isn’t burnout just being tired? Well, no, not quite (though exhaustion is often a symptom).

Burnout is the result of a prolonged period of stress or high demand – like if the situation above continued for an extended period of time with no end date in sight. If you’re usually brimming with energy and motivation but suddenly feel like all you want to do is stay bundled up in bed, doomscrolling, while mentally beating yourself up about anything you can think of – you might be a bit burnt out. Symptoms can also include more frequent illnesses or pain, feeling trapped and/or helpless, loss of interest in work or life, feeling overwhelmed and anxious and having difficulty focusing.

And with the pressure to be on all the time in modern day life, it’s increasingly common.

So, what can you do? Well, firstly, you need to book some time off to relax, do nice things and get a break from whatever is causing you stress (if you can). Towards the end of that time, it’s time to put together your map out of burnout – even if it doesn’t feel like it, you do have some control. Where can you set boundaries and take control of your time and workload? Are there any changes you can make to your routine or habits that might help?

It’s also a good idea to talk to someone about how you’re feeling. It doesn’t need to be your manager or a colleague, but just talking over your feelings can help you feel better, and an outside perspective can help you see the wood through the trees.

So there you have it: bye bye Sunday scaries and hello to enjoying your weekend to the fullest and start your week with calm, clarity and intention.