Man sitting worried with hands on head, anxious and unable to stop thinking about work, experiencing Sunday scaries and work-related stress. — Photo by Nathan Cowley on Pexels.

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Understanding and Overcoming the Sunday Scaries: Causes & Solutions

What Are Sunday Scaries and Why Do They Affect So Many?

Many of us know that awful feeling—the creeping anxiety that builds on Sundays as the following workweek looms. This common experience, often called the 'Sunday scaries,' can affect nearly everyone. In today’s post, we’ll explore why Sunday scaries arise and share practical strategies to overcome them. I’ll also share my personal story of living with Sunday scaries for over twenty years, and how I finally made them disappear. Now, instead of dread and anxiety, I feel genuine excitement for Monday mornings.

This blog is all about reaching financial independence, retiring early, and living our best possible life on the way. And I think we can all agree that we are not living our best possible life if, after grinding away all week in a job we are not passionate about, we then spend at least half of our weekend experiencing strong feelings of anxiety.

In a previous post, I shared how I recently quit my job before reaching full financial independence. I was not only experiencing the Sunday scaries—which I think most of us experience—but also long-term burnout. Balancing the responsibilities of a growing family with my career was proving to be very challenging. I decided to transition towards setting myself up as an independent consultant, hoping I could gain flexibility I longed for to design part-time work around my family, not vice versa. My goals were mainly to reduce hours, prioritize family, and detox from burnout.

It’s still too early to tell whether the transition will be successful in the financial sense, but I’m already 100% certain that it was the right move from every other angle. I am working fewer hours, have the ability to say no to projects I’m not interested in, and have experienced already a clear improvement in mental health—including saying completely goodbye to the Sunday scaries.

What Exactly Are the Sunday Scaries?

What do we mean exactly by “Sunday scaries”? Simply put, Sunday scaries refer to the feelings of anxiety, dread, or stress that many people experience on Sundays as they anticipate the upcoming working week. Perhaps you’d never heard of the term before, but I am sure you’ve experienced the feeling. It’s that unwanted, creeping sense of unease that begins subtly on Sunday morning and tends to intensify as the day goes on. Sometimes we get even more anxious, because we feel it is actually ruining part of our well-earned weekend.

Who gets the Sunday scaries? I think the answer is nearly everyone. From students facing exams, a difficult week, or just attending class, to professionals in demanding or disliked jobs, the feeling is surprisingly common. For many, it forms part of a predictable emotional pattern that is tied to either the stress of upcoming deadlines, meetings, or simply the return to routines we don’t enjoy. For some, the feeling intensifies when there are many things outside of our control, as is the case with many types of jobs.

These feelings arise from what psychologists call “anticipatory anxiety”—our brain’s natural response to the stress and uncertainty of the upcoming workweek. As Sunday progresses, our minds inadvertently start focusing on the challenges and pressures of the week ahead, triggering a physical stress response. This can cause your body to release cortisol and other stress hormones, which can amplify the feelings of anxiety and tension.

Understanding that this is both a physiological and psychological response helps us realize that the Sunday scaries aren’t just “inside your head”, but are very real, measurable reactions to stress and uncertainty. Managing Sunday scaries is crucial, as anxiety significantly impacts overall happiness and mental wellbeing. It’s important to acknowledge that this is not something that is going to go away by itself.

Woman sitting by window, distracted and lost in thought, feeling Sunday blues and anxiety, unable to enjoy her weekend. — Photo by Mart Production on Pexels.

Why Lack of Control at Work Increases Sunday Anxiety

The Sunday scaries often worsen when individuals feel powerless or lack control over their job schedules and workload. In many jobs, the schedule, workload, and priorities are dictated by others—most commonly managers or clients. This lack of autonomy can make the upcoming week feel overwhelming, because you perceive preparing yourself to face situations where you are not in control and where your inputs on decisions may be limited.

Additional factors like long commutes, strict deadlines, office politics, and job misalignment with personal values can increase the intensity of Sunday scaries. Moreover, a poor work-life balance can exacerbate these feelings, leaving little time to recharge, and increasing stress before the weekend begins.

The cocktail only gets worse when we combine these external pressures with other internal worries—whether it is about performance, expectations of others, or job security. The anxiety can become really intense and physically taxing. Chronic stress and burnout often amplify Sunday scaries, turning Sunday into the most stressful day of the week—sometimes even worse than Monday.

When taken to the extreme, it’s not uncommon to experience Sunday scaries as early as Saturday. This is unfortunate, because Friday evening becomes the only time of the week where you feel “mentally free”. Of course, this also happens to be the time where you are most exhausted from the work week.

In contrast, gaining control over your work schedule and projects can significantly reduce the impact of Sunday scaries. Choosing projects you work on, setting your own schedule, or working towards meaningful goals (as opposed to bullshit jobs) can diminish the feelings of anxiety. This is one of the reasons why so many individuals seek financial independence and flexible working careers—we are not just lazy or opposed to working, but prefer to reclaim control over our lives and reduce this anticipatory stress that can ruin the little time off we enjoy on weekends.

My Personal Journey Battling the Sunday Scaries

Since as long as I can remember, I’ve experienced the Sunday scaries to some degree. When I was a kid in school, I think this took a very mild form. I was a good student and, despite the long school hours (9:30 am - 17:30 pm, before extracurricular activities), actually enjoyed many of the classes and the overall school experience. But, of course, not as much as I enjoyed the free time on the weekends. So, this first exposure to the Sunday scaries was more a fear of running out of weekend time rather than an intense fear of the week to come.

Sunday scaries intensified somewhat during university. While there were, again, many things to look forward during this time, my engineering degree was challenging both in terms of content and schedule. Interestingly, I didn’t experience Sunday scaries at all during some of the different working stints I did during university, e.g., working at a sports store selling equipment or at a coffee shop—you guessed it—serving coffee.

I experienced strong Sunday scaries early in my career, and they persisted for years until recently when I made major lifestyle changes. I’ve worked in three different sectors with a variety of different roles—scientific publishing as an editor (focused on the management of the publication process), academia as a scientist, and in consulting, putting in practice some of the research skills for clients in a more practical context.

In all three situations and over more than a decade, I have experienced Sunday scaries that arose from different sources. In the first role, I think it was simply because I really disliked the job (it was boring and quite repetitive); in the second one, it was mostly due to the high expectations set—both by others and myself; finally, in the last one, it was mostly due to the high levels of stress and lack of control over my schedule that are commonly found in consultancy jobs.

But now, after a decade and a half, the Sunday scaries are suddenly gone…

Two young women smiling and hanging out, enjoying a worry-free Sunday, present in the moment and stress-free. — Just enjoying Sunday, not thinking about next week. Photo by Elle Hughes on Pexels.

How Changing Careers Helped Me Overcome Sunday Scaries

Today, I am completely free from Sunday scaries—this crippling anxiety no longer clouds my weekends. It is, of course, human to experience negative emotions now and then, including during the weekend, but they are no longer related to the upcoming workweek and tend to be much more intermittent and easier to deal with. I cannot stress how liberating it is to no longer experience this constant, creeping, heavy anxious feeling over a day and a half of the weekend.

Of course, this change is attributed 100% to quitting my job and pursuing an alternative path instead. Granted—I’m still in the earlier stages of this transition, but I already feel that the freedom to design work and life around my priorities—family, health, happiness—has been extremely liberating. Working for oneself as an entrepreneur (or solopreneur) and following your own agenda can be fulfilling in ways I did not anticipate. I’ve certainly not felt so motivated and excited to work in a very long time.

Besides the positive impacts on mental health and family time, this new transition has freed up more time to pursue other interests. I exercise very regularly now, spend more time in our garden, and started a sailing course. As you can see by the increase in blog articles since April, this change has also provided me with more free time for writing in the blog—which I love to do. I now experience the “Sunday bliss” and look forward to Monday mornings.

Effective Strategies to Manage and Overcome Sunday Scaries

There are different approaches and strategies that can work for dealing with Sunday scaries—the key here is to find the combination that works best for you.

Incorporating mindfulness practices like meditation, deep breathing, or gentle yoga into your daily routine helps manage Sunday scaries and reduce anxiety. I’ve practiced meditation since 2015 and, while it won’t eliminate the Sunday scaries completely, if practiced consistently it will certainly diminish their intensity. Meditation may also help you unexpectedly with many other mental health issues you may be facing. For many years, I’ve been using and can highly recommend Headspace (no affiliate link).

Another strategy to try is to engage in Stoic philosophy. In the linked article, you may find one of my favourite books of all time, “A Guide To The Good Life: The Ancient Art Of Stoic Joy”, by William B. Irvine. The book covers very useful techniques for overcoming negative emotions—including anxiety—in a very practical way, such as negative visualization, dichotomy of control, or reflecting on your own mortality.

It can also be helpful to actively plan for enjoyable activities on Sunday that allow your mind to have a more positive focus (or at least to distract it from work thoughts). This could take the form of spending time in nature (very recommended), engaging actively with a hobby, or spending time with friends. If you choose the latter, be open with your friends about the Sunday scaries. You might realize that nearly everyone is feeling the exact same way. By internalizing that this is a shared experience and by focusing less on yourself, the anxiety can reduce in intensity a little bit.

Cold water exposure, or cold plunging, is a scientifically supported method for resetting the nervous system and alleviate anxiety symptoms. As we covered in a previous post, cold water can help reset the nervous system, reduce stress hormones, and completely change our mood and outlook throughout the day due to the release of endorphins. Although it’s not a cure-all solution, I find cold plunging very invigorating and a helpful way to manage anxiety, winter blues, and Sunday scaries.

Woman entering cold pool outside in snowy weather, practicing cold water exposure to reduce anxiety and improve mental health. — Cold water exposure can have very positive physical and mental health benefits. Photo by Yaroslav Shuraev on Pexels.

Planning and organizing your week ahead on Sunday can reduce uncertainty and ease Sunday scaries for some people. This light organizational work could help give you a higher sense of control over the week ahead. However, I’d be cautious here—it certainly doesn’t make sense to overwork yourself on Sundays, that is certainly not the point. But if you work 1-2 hours on Sunday to partially reduce Sunday scaries, perhaps you can log off work 2 hours early on the following Friday?

Setting clear boundaries around work communication and deadlines helps prevent anxiety from spilling into your weekends. Sometimes, we are afraid of a task because we don’t fully understand it yet. Proactively communicating with your manager in order to have a crystal-clear understanding of the work at hand can be very helpful to increase our sense of control and diminish feelings of anxiety.

While many of these coping strategies help, addressing the root causes of Sunday scaries is essential; otherwise, the anxiety will continue to resurface. Ultimately, we need to address the root causes of the problem. No matter how strong the bandaid, if the wound beneath isn’t cleaned and healed, the pain will persist.

For me, the Sunday scaries weren’t completely solved until I took a hard look at the nature of my job. Until now, pursuing a more entrepreneurial path that increases autonomy and independence has been the right solution for me. I feel like taking this risk and transitioning away from a more traditional career pathway would not have been possible though without being on an aggressive path to FIRE (financial independence, retire early) for already 7 years or so.

Finally, it’s important to stress that, if Sunday scaries and anxiety persist over time, despite implementing some of these changes, you should consider seeking professional help or therapy to address the underlying issue. There is no better investment than into your own physical and mental health.

Final Thoughts on Sunday Scaries—We’d Love to Hear From You

My own experience has shown that whether through career changes, flexible schedules, or simply mindful living, it’s possible to overcome the Sunday scaries and claim your weekends back. We should aim to look forward to Mondays instead of fearing them. If this is not the case, we’re doing something wrong.

We’d love to hear from you: Do you suffer from Sunday scaries? What do you think is triggering it and do you have any tips for others that may have worked for you in the past? Please share your thoughts and stories in the comments below!

If you found this post helpful, consider subscribing to the blog to follow my journey and receive future insights on work-life balance, lifestyle design, financial independence, and strategies to make your money last for the long haul—whether you retire at 45 or keep working by choice. You may find some of our most recent articles after the FAQ section (full list here).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The Sunday scaries are feelings of anxiety, dread, or stress that occur on Sundays as people anticipate the upcoming workweek.
Nearly everyone experiences Sunday scaries at some point – especially those facing a challenging week, jobs with little control or autonomy, long commutes, or roles that don’t align with their values. It’s common when the upcoming workweek feels overwhelming or unpredictable.
They are caused by anticipatory anxiety related to upcoming work stressors, lack of control, workload, poor work-life balance, and sometimes biological stress responses.
The intensity and duration vary, but for many, it starts Sunday morning and intensifies through the afternoon, sometimes even starting as early as Saturday.
Strategies include mindfulness, engaging in philosophy (e.g., setting a coherent philosophy of life), planning enjoyable activities, setting work boundaries, cold water exposure, and addressing root causes like job dissatisfaction or burnout.
Sunday crying can be a sign of deep anticipatory anxiety or burnout related to the upcoming workweek and unresolved stress. Try the mitigation strategies outlined in this article and do not doubt to seek therapy and professional help.
For some, quitting a stressful job to pursue more flexible, autonomous work can significantly reduce or eliminate Sunday scaries.
If anxiety or Sunday scaries persist despite lifestyle changes and significantly impact your wellbeing, consulting a mental health professional is recommended.