Sunday night anxiety? A Therapist’s guide to beating the 'Sunday Scaries'

“Ugh, it’s Sunday already.”

You’ve had a relatively chill weekend, maybe even a lovely one but as the sun starts to dip on Sunday evening, you feel it creeping in. That nagging tightness in your chest. The racing thoughts. The why-am-I-suddenly-so-cranky energy.

If that sounds familiar, you might be experiencing what’s commonly known as the Sunday Scaries - a form of anticipatory anxiety about the upcoming work week…. And let me tell you: you are so not alone.

As a therapist who works with emotionally intelligent, high-functioning women (shoutout to my fellow overthinkers!), I see Sunday night anxiety come up a lot. It’s more than just “not wanting the weekend to end.” It’s often tied to burnout, boundaries, perfectionism, and deeper emotional patterns that can show up in our work lives.

Let’s explore what the Sunday Scaries really are, where they come from, and most importantly - how you can soothe them with practical, compassionate tools.

What are the Sunday Scaries, really?

Sunday Scaries is a light-hearted term for a very real experience: a spike in anxiety, dread, or irritability that hits on Sunday afternoon or evening. It’s often linked to returning to work or routine on Monday, especially if you’re dealing with:

• Work-related stress or burnout

• Anxiety about social interactions or performance

• Perfectionism or imposter syndrome

• A lack of meaning or satisfaction in your current job

• Poor work-life balance or unclear boundaries

In short, it’s your nervous system going, “Nope. Not ready to go back to that.” Even if your job isn’t awful, the mental load, pressure, and emotional labour involved can feel heavy. Especially for women in helping professions or emotionally demanding roles (sound familiar?).

Common signs of Sunday night anxiety

Sunday Scaries can show up differently for everyone, but here are a few signs you might recognise:

• Racing thoughts or overthinking

• Trouble falling asleep Sunday night

• A sense of dread or low mood in the evening

• Stomach tension, nausea, or headaches

• Irritability with your partner, kids, or flatmate

• Avoidance behaviours (doom scrolling, bingeing, zoning out)

If this is a regular pattern, it might be time to listen a little more closely to what your body and mind are trying to say.

Why do emotionally attuned women like you feel this so deeply?

You are likely someone who cares about doing things well, about how people feel, about not letting others down…. and that can mean you carry a lot of invisible emotional weight into your work week.

Some possible contributors to your Sunday night anxiety:

• People-pleasing or over-functioning at work

• A tendency to internalise stress and push through

• Feeling responsible for everyone else’s emotions

• Lack of emotional boundaries or saying "yes" too often

• A job that doesn’t align with your values or energy

And no, you don’t need to quit your job tomorrow - but understanding your emotional landscape is key to calming those scaries.

Some ways to soothe the Sunday Scaries

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to dread Sundays forever. Below are some tools that can help ease Sunday night anxiety and support long-term emotional regulation.

1. Create a Sunday ritual that signals safety

Instead of fighting the feelings, tend to them. Create a predictable, calming Sunday evening ritual that tells your nervous system: “We’re safe now.”

Some ideas:

• A warm bath with grounding essential oils (lavender, sandalwood)

• A favourite feel-good series or podcast — but not one that overstimulates

• Journaling 3 things you’re proud of from the past week

• Lighting a candle and doing 10 minutes of slow breathing

• A bedtime tea + your comfiest PJs (yes, even if you’re 35, not 5)

2. Try a “Worry Dump” (not as gross as it sounds)

Overthinking thrives on vagueness. So get those worries out of your head and onto paper. This technique is often used in CBT and anxiety treatment, and it can works wonders.

How to do it:

• Take 10 minutes to write down everything you’re worried about for the week.

• Then ask: What’s in my control? What’s out of my control?

• Highlight 1–2 practical next steps you can take (and leave the rest).

This is emotional regulation in action - and it gets easier with practice.

3. Reframe Monday as a fresh start

Yes, Mondays are a lot but what if they could also be a mini-reset? A new beginning, not just a punishment?

Try:

• Planning something nice for Monday (coffee at your favourite café, a walk, a playlist)

• Blocking out 15–30 mins to ease in instead of diving into meetings

• Setting a “Monday mantra” like: “I don’t have to do it all today.”

This tiny bit of intentionality can shift the energy from dread to possibility.

4. Name the emotion (Don’t numb it)

So many of us try to numb Sunday anxiety with scrolling, snacks, or binging Netflix. No shame - it’s a coping mechanism! But long-term relief comes from naming and validating the feeling.

Try saying:

“This is anticipatory anxiety. It makes sense that I’m feeling this. I’ve had a big week and I care deeply. I don’t need to fix this right now. I just need to breathe.”

Gentle self-talk is a powerful form of inner parenting.

5. Check in with your values and alignment

Sometimes the Sunday Scaries are a whisper from your intuition. A sign that something isn’t aligned - whether it’s your workload, your role, or your boundaries.

If the dread is chronic, this might be your call to explore:

• Your values and how your job supports (or clashes with) them

• Whether your emotional needs are being met at work

• If it’s time for a boundary reset or even a career pivot

Therapy can help here (hi, it’s me 👋), especially if you feel stuck.

When to seek extra support

If Sunday night anxiety is affecting your sleep, your relationships, or your ability to feel joy - you don’t have to handle it alone.

Working with a therapist can help you:

• Understand the root of your anxiety

• Set healthy boundaries at work

• Unpack burnout, perfectionism, and people-pleasing

• Build emotional regulation tools that actually stick

If Sunday nights make you feel small, tired, or anxious….You’re human and likely, a deeply feeling, big-hearted one at that.

With the right tools and a bit of compassionate self-awareness, the Sunday Scaries can become something you move through, not something that controls you.

And hey - if you ever want a therapist who gets it, I’m here. You don’t have to do this alone.