Aug 14, 2022 19:00:00

3 ways to fight the 'fear of Sunday ending'

In Japan, the phenomenon of feeling depressed on Sunday evenings when the long-running program 'Sazae-san' is broadcast is called '

Sazae-san syndrome .' There is a word called ' Sunday scaries '. An expert in positive psychology has put together three ways to counteract this phenomenon that can make Sundays, which are supposed to be productive weekends and restful holidays, depressing.

Three ways to tackle the 'Sunday scaries', the anxiety and dread many people feel at the end of the weekend
https://theconversation.com/three-ways-to-tackle-the-sunday-scaries-the-anxiety-and-dread-many-people-feel-at-the-end-of-the-weekend-187313

According to Yolanta Burke, a senior lecturer at the RCSI College of Medicine and Health Sciences in Ireland, 'Sunday terrors' are often caused by unfinished business on Friday nights. That's what I'm talking about. In other words, the to-dos, unread emails, and work you left to your future self that you had to get done before the holidays could be your anxiety about the arrival of Monday.

Another reason for the 'Sunday terror' is that there are things that make you feel down on the weekend. Especially if you're busy working during the week, you tend to cram your schedule and events into the weekend, which can cause you to feel pressured on Sunday.

From these points, Mr. Burke proposed three ways to prevent 'Sunday fear'.

◆ 1: Put a break in your work
``When you're distracted by the work that needs to be done until Monday, the most effective solution is to not leave it in the first place,'' Burke says. Ideally, you should start the week with a clean slate to avoid burnout from work piles up.

However, there are many cases where the work cannot be finished in a week, such as people with a lot of work or long-term projects. If that's the case, at least make it through the cracks so that you're ready to go into Monday with the feeling that you're starting a new job, Burke advised.

◆ 2: Prepare fun for the next weekend
If your anxiety is caused by the unpleasant work you have to do at the beginning of the week, making plans to look forward to the end of the week, the next weekend, can help balance positive emotions and negative emotions. can counteract your emotions. For example, making plans to go out to lunch with friends on Saturdays and Sundays, or going to the cinema, making it a routine to plan fun things to do next weekend will lessen the fear of starting a new week.

◆ 3: Try to output why it is scary
According to Burke, if you don't know what's causing your anxiety, take about 20 minutes to write down your feelings. Most of the time, nothing comes to mind when you're suddenly in front of a blank piece of paper, so Burke suggested thinking along the lines of:

・Try to write what the problem is from another person's point of view, such as a parent or friend.
・The amount of time you can concentrate differs from person to person, so if you can't think of anything, try changing the time zone.
・Writing for someone else to read can help you understand and express your feelings better.
・If you are not good at writing sentences, you can record it out loud or shoot it as a movie.

Mr. Burke pointed out that it is true that some people's worries are not mind-blowing problems, such as 'someone is treating me unreasonably at work.' I summarized above, 'Whatever the cause of your Sunday terror, it's worth remembering that people tend to over-exaggerate their anxiety.'