Many people have experienced the Sunday scaries, even if they aren’t familiar with the phrase.

It’s “a lovely alliteration for something that people have been feeling for generations,” Kathleen Pike, a professor of psychology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, told the Washington Post earlier this year.

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The Sunday scaries tend to include a sense of depression, anxiety or dread that creeps in during the weekend as Monday – and the return to work or school – approaches. And they’re pretty common, according to studies.

A 2024 LinkedIn survey, for instance, found that 70% of respondents experienced workweek dread, including interns and executives. Nearly 40% of people said they had taken sick days because of the Sunday scaries, and 9% said they had suffered panic attacks.

Another 2024 survey of 2,000 Americans found that Generation Z – people born between 1997 and 2012 – seemed to disproportionately experience the Sunday scaries. Out of that age group, 74% said they had workweek dread once a month, typically setting in around 4 p.m. Sundays. And 10% of respondents said the scaries hit them at 6 a.m. Sunday. 

“There’s nothing wrong with a person if they feel sad that the weekend is over,” Susanne Cooperman, a neuropsychologist and psychoanalyst at New York University Langone Huntington Medical Group, told Time in April. “It’s when it really interferes in your functioning — when you can’t focus, when you can’t sleep, when you feel yourself medicating with alcohol — then you need help.”

Symptoms of the Sunday scaries may include trouble sleeping, upset stomach, headache, racing heart, sweating and trouble breathing. Severe cases may even lead to depression and heart attacks, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

How to manage the Sunday scaries

Cooperman recommended using a relaxation or meditation app to help “stay in the moment,” to “really try to curtail that catastrophizing into the future.”

Another coping mechanism is to “reframe Sunday as a time for grounding rather than stress,” psychotherapist Brooke Sprowl told Newsweek last year. “Instead of seeing it as the end of something, use the afternoon to prepare intentionally for the week ahead — whether through a calming ritual, setting gentle goals or simply creating space for reflection.”

Morra Aarons-Mele, host of the podcast “The Anxious Achiever,” suggested people “rehearse the week” – planning out each day — to ease the sense that things are out of control.

The Cleveland Clinic also recommends: 

• Have a treat on Mondays, a yummy pastry or a special coffee.

• Go to bed at the same time every Sunday night and make sure to get adequate sleep.

• Avoid working on weekends when possible in order to recharge.

• Exercise. Physical activities produce endorphins, a natural antidepressant.

The Cleveland Clinic recommends seeking help from a mental health professional if the Sunday scaries are interfering with sleep or eating – or causing increased use of alcohol or other substances.