Sunday #SelfCare: The Sunday Scaries and How to Prevent Them
I woke up this morning with a serious case of Sunday scaries. I’ve never even uttered that phrase until today, but this morning, I woke up almost in a panic—worrying about finances, rent, and spending money. I’m extremely grateful for everything that I have, yet I still have those moments of panic 😱. I worry wayyyy too much and on Sundays, usually the day of rest, I panic and try to do everything at once (and then tire myself out by 1 pm and sit on the couch until 8 pm).
This is my case of the Sunday scaries. Everyone is different; we all have our own worries and situations, but the one thing that is the same is Sunday scaries. So, how do we prevent them? How do we not panic on the first day of every week? How do we rest and still set ourselves up for a great week ahead? I thought about it on my drive home from church, and here are a simple ways that I found myself casually implementing:
Do one thing.
Most likely, and if you’re like me, you’ll grow anxious at the thought of starting a new week and taking on all of the things you have to do. Start with just one thing. Start with one thing you have to do for the week; maybe this is doing 1-2 loads of laundry. Maybe this is planning out your meals. Maybe that’s writing any events, reminders, tasks, or lists in your planner for the upcoming week. Whatever it is, do that one thing that you’re dreading the most and then take a break. That way, you’re not overdoing it but at least you did something.
Try and stay off social media for the majority of the day.
It’s so tempting for me to reach for my phone when I’m bored or tired (sometimes, both!). It’s so easy to just do a “quick scroll” through Instagram or TikTok, but when have those scroll times ever been quick? It seems I’m always scrolling for what seems like an hour, but it’s nighttime by the time I’m done scrolling. Instead of reaching for your phone, try going without it for a while. Delete the social media apps from your phone. Put your phone in the other room. Read a book, plan your meals or exercises for the week, take a walk. Social media, for me, opens the door for comparison and anxiety to enter my mind and disrupt the day of rest I should be having. Put away your phone, the social media apps can wait until tomorrow.
Don’t forget to rest.
Yes, we can make Sundays our day to get things DONE, but if all you can muster is to relax and watch TV, then do it. Rest. Reset. (My keyboard automatically corrected rest to reset, so going to add that, too.) Recharge. Maybe work on your side hustle a little bit from your couch in your comfy pajamas or sweatpants. Allow yourself rest time.
I get it. Sunday scaries are a THING. Today, I’m feeling particularly anxious about my finances i.e. paying rent and spending/saving money. I’m choosing to reflect on my spending habits and how I can set myself up for a good financially healthy week—for example, less takeout and more cooking my own meals. That is my one thing for today. My other intentions include to schedule out blog posts for the week, plan next week’s blog posts, reading my many books on my growing TBR, and rest.