Three Ways to Fight the “Fear of Sunday Ending”

In Japan, the phenomenon of feeling depressed on Sunday evenings when the long-running TV program “Sazae-san” is broadcast is known as “Sazae-san syndrome.” Overseas, there is also the term “Sunday scaries,” which refers to the dreaded arrival of Monday. Positive psychology experts have compiled a list of three ways to combat the Sunday scaries that can make what should be a fulfilling weekend or a restful holiday into a depressing one.

Three ways to tackle the ‘Sunday scaries,’ the anxiety and dread many people feel at the end of the weekend

https://theconversation.com/three-ways-to-tackle-the-sunday-scaries-the-anxiety-and-dread-many-people-feel-at-the-end-of-the-weekend-187313

According to Jolanta Burke, a senior lecturer at the RCSI College of Medicine and Health Sciences in Ireland, “Sunday dread” is often caused by unfinished work from Friday night that is lingering in the background. In other words, tasks that need to be taken care of before you go on vacation, unread e-mails, or tasks that you have left untouched and entrusted to your future self may be causing you anxiety about the arrival of Monday.

Another reason for “fear of Sundays” is that there are things that weigh on the mind over the weekend. Especially for those who are busy at work during the week, they tend to cram their schedules and events into the weekend, and this can cause them to feel pressured on Sundays.

With this in mind, Jolanta Burke suggested three ways to prevent “Sunday dread.

◆1: Give your work a break

Jolanta Burke says, “The most effective solution when you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the work you have to do until Monday is to not leave any work unfinished in the first place. Ideally, you should start the week with a clean slate to avoid burnout from the workload.

However, there are many cases where work cannot be completed in a week, such as people who have a lot of work to do or long-term projects. In such cases, Jolanta Burke advised that we should at least try to get to the end of the week so that we can greet Monday with the feeling that we are starting a new work week.

◆2: Prepare for fun the next weekend

If the unpleasant work you have to do at the beginning of the week is causing you anxiety, you can offset the positive and negative feelings by making plans that allow you to look forward to the end of the week, or the next weekend. For example, making a routine of planning fun things to do on the following weekend, such as making plans to go out to lunch with friends on Saturday or Sunday or to go to the movies, can help ease the fear of starting a new week.

◆3: Try to output why it is horrible.

According to Jolanta Burke, if you are not sure what exactly is causing your anxiety, take 20 minutes to write down your feelings.

Most of the time, nothing comes to mind when you are faced with a white sheet of paper, so Jolanta Burke suggested the following points to think about.

・Try writing down what the problem is from another person’s point of view, such as a parent or friend.

・Different people can concentrate at different times of the day, so if nothing comes to mind, try changing the time of day.

・If you are not good at writing, try writing from a different point of view, such as a parent or a friend.

・If you are not good at writing, you can record it out loud or make a movie of it.

Jolanta Burke pointed out that some of the problems people have are certainly not problems that can be managed with a good mind, such as “people treating me unreasonably at work,” and then summarized, “Whatever the cause of Sunday’s fear, it is important to remember that people tend to overstate their anxiety.

Satoshi

Hello, I’m Satoshi. I’ve been working as a staff member for an organization for over a decade. During that time, I’ve had various experiences, from launching new businesses to streamlining operations using information I’ve gathered from the internet and my own experiences. Of course, I’ve been successful with the help of colleagues and superiors, and I’m grateful to them. Nowadays, I find myself in a position where people from various backgrounds ask me for advice and share their knowledge. However, being constantly approached has made me realize that I need to protect my own time. So, I’ve decided to start a blog called ‘Satoshi Lab’ to share knowledge. I hope that by writing about my thoughts and experiences, people will enjoy reading and find it helpful in their own journeys.