Hey,
Hope you’re having a relaxed and fun Sunday :D
I have an important question to ask - have you ever faced that feeling of being anxious, nervous, restless, and very tense about a new upcoming week?
Really late in life, I realized that Sundays have been anxiety-inducing for me. My mornings have always been fun-filled. Waking up around 9, a good home-made breakfast, mostly bread pakoras or aloo puri or chole bhature. But as the day progresses, a sinking feeling starts to kick in because it's back – The Dreadful Monday.
But further late I realised, I was not the only one. Many of us face that Sunday evening anxiety. This weekly dreadful feeling can occur when worries about work extend in our off time. The nervousness of starting over a new week, with new goals, new challenges, corporate hustle, targets, etc. How many emails would I have in my inbox the next morning, where am I even supposed to start?
Let me share a little personal insight into my journey with this so-called Sunday evening anxiety!
When I was a kid, I used to have a constant sinking feeling by the time it was evening on a Sunday. I belong to the times when Star Plus used to have the Sunday Matinee movies at 4 PM every Sunday evening. The tune itself used to give me jitters that this is the last time I am getting to watch TV over the weekend. While at school, unknowingly, I used to have mini panic attacks if I had that Hindi or English period of the strictest subject teachers in school or if I had a weekly Monday test. Never in school did I realize that this constant nervousness and restlessness had a term to it – Anxiety! Sometimes I couldn’t sleep on Sunday nights due to this weird feeling.
Anyway, life moved on and in a blink of an eye, I passed college. But starting work post-college and dealing with this weird feeling again, took a lot from me.
This feeling flowed once I started working in the legal field. I noticed a pattern of hyperventilation which means breathing rapidly and heavily. I noticed that I sweat in Delhi winters, and trembled when I was appearing in front of a District Judge or was called to my boss’s cabin for a review of my legal draft.
Of course, all this added up with the constant fear of failing at whatever I was doing in life and I started shying away from conversations. Be it friends or family, I barely showed up at the family brunches over the weekend. Gradually I realized the reason behind my constant battle with anxiety, i.e., I dreaded the work I was doing and the toxic work culture made it even worse. I am a people’s person but here I barely made a personal connection with my colleagues. All these factors resulted in extreme anxiety issues in me. I barely made it through the week and I was a mess on Sunday evenings.
Post my big switch and after moving to Perfora, I came in with a lot of self-doubts and yes my anxiety followed me here as well. The initial anxiety that I faced here was majorly driven by the fear of failure again and if this was the right move.
However, very quickly I was proven wrong and this truly wasn’t what I was expecting. In no time, I struck a chord of friendship with my colleagues here. All of us belonging to the same age group and coming with a hustler attitude helped a lot. I started connecting with strangers and talked about our vision and the brand to people and this gave me a sign that I was reconnecting with the world and gaining back my self-confidence. The holistic work culture here helped and acted as an enabler in my personal and professional growth.
As I complete 9 months at Perfora, it is not like I do not face that Sunday evening anxiety. But I have been able to curb it by a strong 50-60 percent to get my game together. What helps me beat the anxiety before a Monday morning is staying connected with my work remotely over the weekends too. I prepare myself a little before I welcome a brand new week with new goals to achieve.
Do let me know if you too have ever faced Sunday evening anxiety and I would you love to hear back from you :D
Cheers,
Mridu