Six out of ten of us experience the Sunday Scaries — here's what we can do about it

Rather than fret about what lies ahead, it’s best to find strategies to distract yourself,  say experts

Mark Sunday on the calendar on yellow background

Sharon Gunter is a 54-year-old business analyst living in Dublin. She likes her work but has noticed that “a low-grade dread starts edging into her consciousness every Sunday afternoon”.

“It’s the opposite of the Friday feeling when the weekend is opening up,” she says. “It’s the sense of it closing down."

"I love having an expanse of time ahead of me to do whatever I want, and Sunday afternoons are the opposite of that.”

Gunter isn’t the only one whose anxiety increases at the prospect of returning to work after the weekend. This phenomenon is so common that it has a name – the Sunday Scaries. 

In Ireland, many of us call it the Glenroes in a throwback to a time when the theme tune to RTÉ’s Glenroe brought the weekend to an end.

Research commissioned British government this year found that of the 4,013 workers interviewed, 67% reported regularly experiencing the Sunday Scaries. This increased to 74% for those aged 18 to 24.

A 2018 LinkedIn survey of 1,017 adults suggests the phenomenon may be even more prevalent, with 80% admitting to feeling anxious most Sundays.

“It’s common to experience a sense of anticipation and sometimes dread on a Sunday,” says Ross McIntosh, an associate business psychologist with Seven Psychology at Work in Dublin. 

“So many of us are sitting at home on a Sunday with our minds already at work.”

A Harvard study might explain why we do this. 

“This study found that we’re in a mind-wandering state for 47% of our waking hours. It also found that this wandering mind was typically not a happy mind. 

"When we worry about what might happen when we log onto our work emails on Monday morning, we miss out on what’s happening around us in the moment on Sunday night.”

The human mind is a time traveller, reflecting on past events and anticipating future ones, adds McIntosh. 

“On one hand, this means we can plan, learn and predict but on the other hand, we can spend too much time ruminating on the past and worrying about the future.”

According to the Cleveland Clinic, worrying can have a negative impact on our bodies, causing symptoms such as an upset stomach, a racing heart, sweating, or headaches.

Rest and replenish

Leadership coach Síle Walsh often works with clients who suffer from the Sunday Scaries. She thinks they can stem from a work-life balance that’s off-kilter.

“Very often, people are waiting until the weekend to take a breath or catch up with work they haven’t done at home,” she says. 

“All performers know that downtime is essential, and the weekend is downtime for workers. However, the reality for many is that they take on other roles and responsibilities at the weekend. 

"They don’t get a proper opportunity to rest and replenish. It stands to reason that on a Sunday evening, as they look ahead to another busy five-day week and don’t have much in terms of resilience, they will feel the Sunday Scaries.”

Leadership coach Síle Walsh

There are other possible reasons for the Sunday Scaries. In the 2018 LinkedIn study, 60% said their workload caused their anxiety. 

Another 44% cited balancing their professional, and personal to-do lists and 39% said it was because they felt overwhelmed due to their workload.

“The Sunday Scaries can also be related to fear of change,” says Walsh. “People stay in jobs they don’t like for fear it will be worse if they leave. Then they slowly begin to resent their working week.”

The British research found that fears about the week ahead peaked at 5pm on Sundays, prompting people to distract themselves in various ways. 

Those aged 18 to 24 were likely to lose themselves in social media, those aged 25 to 22 to binge-watch TV, and those aged 33 to 40 to comfort eat.

“The classic response to anxiety is to try to mute the sensation,” says McIntosh. “The problem is that the things we do – drinking, overeating, doom scrolling – can be counterproductive to our wellbeing.”

He recommends facing the anxiety instead. 

“It can become like a mini dictator in our minds, occupying all of our thoughts. But if we tell ourselves that we are not alone in feeling it, that it’s common to experience this sense of dread, we can regain a sense of control. 

"Instead of getting tangled up in our anxiety and allowing it to ruin our Sunday evening, we have the choice over what we do next.”

Get ahead of your anxiety

It helps if we can separate ourselves from our thoughts. 

“Noticing our thoughts is the first step in getting some space between ourselves and them,” says McIntosh.

“Simply telling ourselves something like: ‘I’m sitting here dreading opening emails at work tomorrow. Is this how I want to be in this moment?’ can help.”

Walsh recommends questioning what is making you feel anxious. 

“What is it about the week ahead that’s so challenging,” she asks. “Once you identify the challenges, you can figure out how to deal with them.”

For example, if you’re stressed about your workload, you could make a to-do list, prioritise your tasks, and then divide those tasks into smaller steps. This will give you a greater sense of control.

That’s what Gunter does when the Sunday Scaries strike. 

“The best way for me to combat them is to think through what’s coming up on Monday,” she says. 

“I check my emails and look at my calendar to diffuse the dread with a concrete reminder of what’s coming up the next day.”

Sharon Gunter 

You could do this on a Friday evening before the weekend begins. 

“Rather than allowing work to rattle around your head over the weekend, get ahead of your anxiety with an action plan for the week,” says McIntosh. 

“Then put it away and turn off all work notifications so you can have a proper rest.”

Another positive way of distracting yourself from the Sunday Scaries is to schedule an enjoyable activity on a Sunday afternoon: sign up for a class, go cycling or do some physical activity, spend time with family and friends.

If you’re still overwhelmed by dread after trying all these tactics, it could be a sign that you’re unhappy in your job or there are other underlying issues. 

“It isn’t reasonable to expect to be able to go through life without feeling any anxiety about work but it is reasonable to expect to be able to manage that anxiety,” says Walsh. “The Sunday Scaries can be a sign of unmet needs and we should take action in order to feel better.”

This action could involve talking to a counsellor. 

“Many workplaces have employee assistance programmes offering free confidential counselling sessions,” says Walsh.

Asking for help doesn’t have to be a last resort. 

“We don’t have to wait for a problem to become serious before we reach for the support we need to feel well,” says Walsh. 

“We should all be able to enjoy our Sundays and feel capable of managing the week ahead and it’s worth talking to somebody if we’re struggling to do this.”

Ross McIntosh is the creator and host of the People Soup podcast, which applies behavioural science to work.