Linda Johnson (Beat Sunday Scaries)
Linda is a certified executive coach, management trainer and diversity trainer with certifications as a master business coach and organisational development coach. As an experience...
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What are the Sunday scaries?
It is Sunday afternoon. We're going into the evening. All of a sudden, your thoughts are racing about what's going to happen this week. You get irritable. In fact, your family and friends don't even really like being around you on Sunday nights because they can see you kind of going down. There's a general feeling of unease. You might even have an upset stomach. Your appetite is changing. Do you want dinner? No. No. That's okay. No, I wanted to go out. No, I don't want to go out anymore. There's a sense of dread. You're losing motivation. You're barely sleeping on Sunday night, like, oh my gosh, here we go. Monday's coming. You're having trouble staying present in the moment, even enjoying the time that you have because it's the time that you have left. You're catastrophizing now about what's going to be on your desk on Monday morning. What are you going to face? Oh no, I'm not going to make the deadline this week. I'm going to lose my job. Here we go again. These are the Sunday scaries. Some people also call it the Monday dread. If this is you, it's something that's really impacting your life, not just for the weekend, but really throughout the week because the week represents something that's very difficult for you. It represents the work, the other part of your life, and the weekend is not a break so much as it's just putting a pause on the inevitable. Sometimes it depends on the kind of work that you do. Some of you are working in such intense fields that where it's literally life or death, and it's very difficult to get over the trauma of the previous week so that you can really focus on the one that's coming.
Why are boundaries important for reducing Sunday scaries?
Set your boundaries, not only boundaries between work and home activities, but boundaries between things that you want to do and things that other people expect you to do. Give yourself that time to recover, to replenish, and make sure you get a good night's sleep.
What role does journaling and self-care play in managing Sunday scaries?
Journal when those feelings are coming up. Journal, it's like any other kind of an anxiety. It's really important to discharge it and acknowledge it. Do self-care and do relaxation exercises, not just the inhaling, but focusing on the exhaling and discharging the excess CO2 as well as to fight that adrenaline response, that hypervigilance that you're going to be feeling. Dedicate more of your Sunday to self-care activities that allow you to recharge. Be sure that at least one time over the weekend that you're engaging in an activity that is bringing you joy, and then give yourself time to sit and think about it and enjoy the fact that you did that enjoyable activity.