How to handle the 'Sunday Scaries'

Topics mentioned: anxiety, burnout, stress, self-care, school

About: Our bloggers share advice for anyone feeling anxious on Sundays. Check out their tips for school burnout, anxiety and managing worries about the week ahead.

We’ve all been there. Sunday evening hits and an overwhelming sense of dread starts to invade your mind. Sometimes it’s for a particular reason, like something significant happening that week. But the ‘Sunday Scaries’ can creep in even when, on paper, your Monday seems routine and worry-free. Whatever’s making you feel anxious, there are ways to manage your worries and take care of yourself.

I’d never heard of the phrase ‘Sunday Scaries’ before writing this, but I’ve definitely experienced them. Unfortunately, I didn’t know why I struggled with lots of things when I was at school which made the whole process a burnout loop.

At the start of each new term, I’d be sick (sometimes physically) with anxiety and beg my mum not to make me go. The sensory overwhelm, the unrealistic attention demands, the failed friendships and bullying, the confusingly explained tasks and extracurricular expectations - all these things depleted my reserves and frustrated my perfectionism. By Friday, I had a mountain of work that felt impossible to overcome.

I'd flit between procrastinating and working every second of the weekend to catch up. Either way, Sunday would be a source of dread and just as I’d reset, I was assaulted again with all the things that made school so hard. I feared the evening coming as I either frantically tried to finish the work I’d felt too down to complete earlier, or fretted about all the potential pitfalls of the week ahead.

Now with distance, I want to share some things I did and some that I wish I'd done:

It’s totally normal to feel apprehensive on a Sunday about the week ahead. What really helps me is keeping myself distracted during the day, so I do a lot of online volunteering on Sundays.

Also, practise some self-care, whatever that might look like to you. I always enjoy planning a quiet evening to myself on Sundays – I might take a relaxing bath to really help me destress, then get snuggled up in bed and having an early night with a good book and some nice music. All of this helps me feel calm and is a good routine to help my body get ready for sleep.

Another tip that I find helpful if you’re constantly worrying or going over thoughts in your head is to write these thoughts down. I recommend writing down your Sunday worries as they come up during the day or before you go to bed - it really helps to release them and hopefully relax a bit more before winding down for sleep.

It’s important to remember that you’re doing the best that you can. Whatever the week might bring, just try your best and make sure that you look after yourself.