Sunday can simultaneously be the best and worst day of the entire week. It's the best day because you're really getting into the weekend vibe by then, so you're feeling totally relaxed and laid-back. Plus, everyone knows Sundays are for brunching, and there are few things better in this world than mimosas and bagels. But for people who dread the Sunday scaries, it's also the worst day of the week, because the next day is Monday, which is the first day of another long week at a job you might not feel so hot about. Sigh.
Everyone's been there before. The Sunday scaries are a real, verifiable illness, guys. OK, fine, maybe they haven't exactly been recognized by the Mayo Clinic yet, but feelings of anxiety and stress at the end of the weekend actually are real to some extent. The more technical term for these feelings is "anticipatory anxiety," according to NBC News, and it tends to build over the course of the day while you're anticipating the stress of the week ahead.
If you're the type of person who definitely feels some serious anticipatory anxiety by the end of the weekend, then you know about the Sunday scaries all too well. Here are seven classic Sunday struggles you might be familiar with when you can't help but dread the week ahead.
When you're checking the time constantly throughout the day, literally starting from the moment you wake up on Sunday morning, you know you're feeling some pain. It's like you're trying to take advantage of that old-school saying, "a watched pot doesn't boil."
Well, unfortunately it does, even if it takes a little longer. Staring at the clock won't stop time from passing; it'll only keep you from doing other fun stuff on a beautiful Sunday. Try to keep the time checks to once an hour, max, so you can really make the most of the rest of your weekend.
Brunch is a Sunday thing, and it's also a morning thing, so maybe that's why it makes for such a great distraction from the terror that is the Sunday scaries. After all, with a bloody mary (or two) and a western omelette in your belly, how could you not feel good about it being a Sunday?
But if you opt for a bottomless brunch special with friends, you might end up five mimosas deep by 3 p.m. and passed out on your bed an hour later — which is either a good thing or a bad thing, depending on what kind of Sunday scary-subscriber you are.
If you're like me, then you tend to avoid going to sleep on Sunday evenings at all costs, because you know for a fact that, once you do go to bed, Monday morning arrives with the blink of an eye, and just, ugh.
Brewing up a pot of coffee at around 4 p.m. is a classic Sunday-scaries move. In some ways, it's also some strange attempt at voodoo-magicking yourself into thinking you still have a lot of the day left, which is just plain untrue.
If you're not a coffee person (which, for me, is a different problem in and of itself, but that's for another time), then you might just opt for that deliciously indulgent 7 p.m. bedtime and call the whole Sunday thing quits.
This is honestly the best Sunday-scaries habit of all, if you ask me, so you should hold onto it. Getting a good night's sleep is one of the best ways to prep for the week ahead, so why not get all cozy a little bit earlier than usual?
Sure, you're not technically looking for a new job — or, at least, that's not what you tell people. And yet, every Sunday, here you are, scrolling through a billion job listings, stalking old college friends' LinkedIns to see if they're doing something cooler than you.
It's a classic Sunday-scaries move, daydreaming about what you could be doing for a job instead of what you're currently doing. If you're seriously miserable at your job, though, then it might be time to act on this, and to actually ask that friend who works at NASA if they want to get coffee.
Or, of course, you might just be a little buzzed from all those mimosas from brunch, in which case, it's probably best to shut your laptop off and call it a night.
Have you ever had a sudden, inexplicable urge to cook an elaborate meal on a Sunday afternoon, kind of like it's your last meal on Earth? Becoming emotionally attached to (and maybe even a little bit dramatic about) Sunday dinner is a classic Sunday scaries struggle. But why not roll with it?
Breaking bread with good company is an excellent way to soothe your anxiety, and also to just plain distract yourself with a recipe to whip up. Cook on, girl — just make sure to clean all your dishes before you go to bed, otherwise that anxiety will be sure to set in real quick the next morning.
I mean, really, what's the point of Pinterest, if not for creating board after board of inspirational quotes to make you feel OK about the fact that a) it's Sunday, and b) you have to get up early the next morning, and for several straight days after that?
Everyone needs a little bit of outside motivation once in a while. Hey, it might even help to print out your favorite Pinterest quotes and tape them to your wall. Anything to make the Sunday scaries a bit more tolerable, right?
