I’ll start this post with one of those cliche blogger statements … I am not a medical professional and everything in this post is based on my personal experience dealing with the Sunday Sads. If you are suffering from depression, anxiety or something else, you should seek the advice of a seasoned professional.
For me, though, there are five go-to ways I help myself stay positive and happy on Sundays when my mind wants me to get down.
1. Get Moving
Whether it’s going for a walk, taking a workout class or strolling the floor at your favorite store, it’s important to get up and move. Exercise has many proven mental health benefits. Regular exercise can have a positive impact on depression, anxiety and ADHD. It also relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts overall mood. Sure, I don’t always want to spend hours in the gym on Sundays, but I make sure I don’t just sit on the couch all day until it’s time to go to bed.
2. Treat Yourself
I’m a big fan of positive reinforcement. Eat healthy all week? Treat yourself to your favorite dessert. Get a raise at work, buy yourself a little something special. So, to cheer me up, I proactively treat myself to something I like for assuming I’ll make it through the upcoming week. Even if it’s as small as watching my favorite Netflix show, it makes Sundays a bit more indulgent and fun.
3. Look Forward to Something
When I start to think about the weekend ending, I can get majorly bummed about being at work all day for five days in a row. Why can’t every day be a Saturday, right? So to change my frame of mind, I think of something I’m excited for during the upcoming week. And if I have nothing, I make something. Even something as small as getting lunch with a friend who works nearby can help lessen my Sunday Sads.
4. Make a Plan
On Sundays I can feel a bit like things are out of my control. I know I have a lot coming up for the week, and it almost feels like too much. So to regain that sense of control, I’ll start to make a weekly to-do list. Sometimes a physical list, sometimes just a mental list. Doing this will help me understand what I have to do during the next 7 days and see that is manageable. It also makes Monday mornings easier because I can just jump right in to my work.
5. Do Sunday on another Day
For me, one of the worst parts of Sunday is all of the chores I procrastinate on and leave until the last minute. Laundry, groceries, cleaning, preparing for the week ahead. To make sure that I can relax and enjoy Sunday, I like to finish at least some of these chores earlier in the weekend. Sometimes I do laundry and pick up on Fridays after work or do my grocery shopping on Saturday afternoon. That means I can have some fun on Sunday and not worry about the impending week.
Tell me: How do you deal with the Sunday Sads?
