WTF Are 'Sunday Scaries'—and Are They Getting Worse?

“I‘m gonna tell you what I really think I like about Mondays
Cause they feel like Saturdays
When you don’t gotta go to work
Every day is a holiday
I wake up when I want to
I do anything I wanna do
Can’t wait for Tuesday”
-NOFX, ‘Thank God It’s Monday’

It sounds like a weekly horror film matinee program at the local cinema or whatever, but the term “Sunday Scaries” is apparently a common term that means you hate your job and you don’t want to go back.

Via Fast Company:

The cloud of dread hanging over you on Sunday evening; the wave of anxious anticipation you feel ahead of a new week; the cold sweat you get thinking about Monday. These feelings have a name: the “Sunday scaries.

The “Sunday Scaries,” which I had never heard of before yesterday, are apparently becoming epidemic:

According to recent data from LinkedIn and Headspace, the so-called “Sunday scaries” are getting worse, supposedly stemming from growing economic uncertainty, financial stress, and employment concerns…

Among those who face the Sunday scaries, 74% say their feelings have increased because of current economic uncertainty; 37% say they have worsened because they are more overwhelmed at work than ever before; and 31% blame their fear of a potential recession.

Does everything need to have a cute proper name? In the olden days, weren’t the “Sunday Scaries” just described as economic anxiety?

Dr. Dana Udall, chief clinical officer of Headspace Health, explains the difference:

Research has shown a correlation between economic uncertainty and stress, so this concept isn’t necessarily new. However, what is unique in today’s current environment is the compound effect of multiple global crises coming to a head at once—the global pandemic, political unrest, rising inflation, and economic instability to name a few. All of these factors can impact how we show up in the workplace—and ultimately our overall mental health. [emphasis added]

The global pandemic! COVID-19, the pandemic that won’t die, strikes again.

Polling from a couple of months back on public attitudes seems to indicate the contrary—Americans are less and less stultified into fetal-position terror over COVID-19, no matter how badly the Public Health™ authorities would like to keep the terror campaign going.