“Gloomy Sunday” or Sunday neurosis – how to deal with it

Is it possible to cope with Sunday neurosis? Don’t know what it is? Then you are just lucky. And for those who often experience this condition – advice from specialists.

Many people are familiar with the feeling of sudden anxiety that accompanies them throughout the day off, making them nervous and replaying the upcoming work day in their heads. 78% of the inhabitants of our planet have had to deal with the phenomenon of “Sunday neurosis”. And in the 30s, the Hungarian journalist Laszlo Javor wrote poems that formed the basis of one of the saddest songs in history – “Gloomy Sunday”.

From mild anxiety to insomnia and nausea

For most people, weekend neurosis manifests itself as mild anxiety, irritability within acceptable limits, and bad mood. But sometimes the symptoms go off scale: in addition to the above, headaches, nausea and, of course, persistent insomnia are annoying. How to understand why this happens?

Causes of “Gloomy Sunday”

Experts name the main factors that can worsen Sunday mood and well-being:

Losing control. On weekdays you try to stick to a healthy diet and lifestyle, and on weekends you “relax” and go all out. The kilograms lost with such difficulty return along with Sunday “goodies”, abstinence from alcohol is replaced by libations already on Friday evening, and for some reason the promise made to oneself about active recreation is remembered only on the eve of Monday. The feeling of guilt for all this falls like a heavy burden with which you go to bed, and with you the constant companions of insomnia: anxiety, restlessness, dissatisfaction with yourself and irritation with others.

Feeling of “lost” opportunities and time. The mood on Friday morning and Sunday evening is diametrically opposed. On Friday at work you are “warmed” by the thought: “I’m tired, but after work the weekend will begin, I’ll be my own boss.” However, the weekend flies by so quickly that on Sunday evening you realize that you haven’t had time to either relax or do anything useful. Having put things aside and decided to rest, you feel guilty for what you haven’t done, and having redone everything you planned, you go to work on Monday tired and overwhelmed.

Loss of stability. Calm everyday life is replaced by the presence of free time, which is difficult to plan. As a result, rushing from one thing to another does not allow you to use time effectively and, accordingly, feel satisfaction from two days off spent with benefit.

Premonition of negativity. For many people, returning to work or class on Monday seems like torture: “Again…”. For some reason, at this moment, everything positive that happened to you on working days is forgotten, and only a heavy duty remains in your thoughts… This feeling is called the Sunday blues syndrome. And you are not alone – 3/4 of the inhabitants of our planet are familiar with it.

How to deal with Sunday neurosis

And now about the main thing: how to cope with such a condition. First you need to identify the source of your anxiety, this could be, for example:

• fear of communicating with superiors;
• work tasks unfinished and postponed since last week;
• the monotony of the annoying daily routine;
• dislike of your job;
• fatigue from the weekend, during which you did a bunch of household chores and did not have time to “rest after relaxing”;
• depression from the very fact that tomorrow I have to go to work again.

The following tips will help you cope with Sunday neurosis and go to work or school on Monday with optimism:

1. Free Sunday from negative associations. Unload him from household chores, leaving only the necessary ones – those that cannot be done on weekdays. First of all, a day off is for relaxation and communication with loved ones. It is absolutely not necessary to devote Sunday to household chores.
2. Add at least a little time for self-development to your Sunday schedule: read an interesting book, take up a hobby. In the end, watch a movie you’ve been wanting to see for a long time. Each of these activities will give you the opportunity to feel that the day off was not in vain. In addition, the brain, “busy with business,” will be distracted from anxious thoughts by something more interesting.
3. Minimize work contacts: Do not answer calls, do not look through mail – this is your legal day off. Give up social networks – they only steal your time and frustrate you, especially lately with a lot of negative news. This is too difficult for some, but… try it and you will be surprised at the results.
4. For those who associate weekends with alcohol: You shouldn’t “break down”, otherwise at least Saturday will pass in the severe pangs of a hangover and you will simply “fall out” of life.” If you can’t avoid drinking at all, then you need to know your limits and resort to helping means. A hangover can destroy the whole day!

Source link