PHOTO CREDIT: heartmanblog.com
Sunday Scaries By Victoria Mooncotch
The Sunday Scaries are a relatively new brand of anxiety developing in young adults after the freedom of the weekend. Usually coupled with a hangover and lack of memory from the night before, millennials fuel the Scaries with anxiety about the upcoming week questioning: “What am I even doing with my life?” Like clockwork the first day of the week causes an uproar in online posts that are paired with funny memes or gifs, creating a slight confusion on whether The Scaries are just a comical social media fad or if they should be listed in the DSM-5. Bukowski, a poet widely known for being extremely pessimistic, might have gotten something right when he said “Sundays kill more men than bombs” with this one. If the overindulging causes strife and worry perhaps individual therapy can help curb your alcohol induced anxiety. The joy can stay in Sunday Funday!
Psychology Today online cites anxiety as “anticipating disaster, often worrying excessively about health, money, family, or work. Sometimes, just the thought of getting through the day.” Sounds similar, doesn’t it? The Sunday Scaries are the anticipation of the week to come that is infiltrated with worry, irrational curiosity, and an inability to complete ordinary tasks. This brand of severe anxiety even robs you of your ability to focus. Grandex Labs, who has a once a week podcast on the topic, has described the feeling as “Knowing you can do everything right, but still having a dark cloud of ‘What the hell is going on’ hanging over your head.” This can lead to some major questioning of individual happiness. The key to answering those major questions might just be to outline the difference between anticipation and anxiety. When you lead with anticipation you’re ready to take the Sunday bull by the horns, but when you lead with anxiety you’ll sow self-doubt into everything you do. Again, talking in counseling helps to not only lift your mood but also your self-esteem.
While it might be easier to hide raw emotions behind a funny meme, it’s time to get serious on how we deal with anxiety. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults in the U.S., yet less than 40% receive individual counseling (ADAA). Not to mention a hard night of binge drinking doesn’t really help the issue either. If you are having a hard time identifying what leads you to happiness or a path for knowing what is actually going on, it’s time to seek help! Individual therapy gives you someone on the outside of it all who will help you explore and answer all of those irrational questions Sunday makes you ask. You won’t only feel that dark cloud of the unknown start to dissipate, you’ll also uncover and get through what all that anxiety is really about. Although there may be comfort in knowing you’re not the only one online having a case of the Sunday Scaries, you won’t be alone in facing them with a therapist either. See, Sunday isn’t so scary after all. Dr. Goschi can help call to schedule a meeting at (312)595-1787 or email her at barbara@drgoschi.com