We have all been there: waking up on a Sunday morning with a feeling of impending doom, your chest thumping heavily with the thought of soon-to-be late assignments and your next alarm clock. You would love nothing more than to transport back to that Friday feeling. The sky feels the same way, seeming to present a gloomy grey instead of its usual blue hue.

That feeling of dread can linger into brunch — the coffee jitters don’t help the anxiety either. Each passing hour is a reminder that you “really need to get this done.” The whole day is dedicated to anticipating Monday. 

I have been plagued by these gloomy Sundays my entire life. My family can attest. As a kid, whenever Sunday evening came around, I would fake some sort of stomach ache, sore throat, headache — any reason to stay home and play hooky.

Needless to say, my mom was always on to my antics.

Recently, my Sunday scaries have been so intense that I even cringe at the thought of the weekend because I know that, eventually, it will be over. The apprehension about what lies ahead — a busy week, first day at a new job, an unwritten paper — can be painful. 

So, I have made the effort to make my Sundays a little less frightening. 

I am writing this on Sunday, April 25. I woke up this morning and allowed myself to sleep in a bit. But, to ensure I did not sleep the whole day away, I made my bed and lounged on top of it wrapped up in a blanket cocoon. 

It is all about balance.

I wanted to practice mindfulness before starting my homework. Setting a positive intention can be difficult, so I turned on my essential oil diffuser and lit some of my favorite candles.

My biggest piece of advice for Sundays is to look at them as an opportunity for rest and recovery, rather than something dreadful. Instead of mourning the loss of the weekend, plan for the great week that lies ahead.

After all, none of it has happened yet.

Much of our nervousness comes from “fortune telling,” a form of a cognitive distortion. According to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Los Angeles, fortune telling is the tendency to predict that a particular situation will have a certain, mostly negative, outcome. 

Despite the fact that these cognitive distortions convince us that the days ahead will turn out poorly, the busy week we are dreadfully awaiting has not even happened yet. Most of the time, it is never as busy as we believe it will be.

With that being said, I encourage you all to take some time for yourself this upcoming Sunday. Call a family member, splurge on your favorite snack from Whole Foods, re-watch a movie that comforts you and stop predicting how the future will turn out.