Sunday Blues

[KMTE]

Does anybody else feel even worse on a Sunday? I feel like the working week takes alot of effort to get through most of the time and when it gets to the weekend it's like a rest almost. My anxiety is never as severe (obviously not always sometimes it strikes no matter what day it is) on the weekend I have my husband and kids home which just having the company is a help and a distraction and if i need some time to just relax my husband is there with the kids. Also we tend to do fun things and while we keep busy the anxiety tends to stay relatively easy to manage (again not alwAys) also every Sunday we spend the day at my son and husbands sport I'm always anxious if I'm going to have any of my health anxiety symptoms that day or anxiety will take over in front of everyone which would be embarrassing. Also Sunday means its Monday tomorrow and I have to make my way through another school/work/sports/kinder gym week which at the moment im funding quiet difficult and draining. Can anyone else relate?

[MarkJT]

Hey KMTE, certainly know what you are saying. I am wiped out by Friday night and generally have a massive sleep that night and Saturday morning. Not the greatest fan of Sunday night due to the work week ahead and although i enjoy work, I know that as each day goes on, the more tired i get from keeping myself level throughout the week.

Can I ask if you are being treated for this?

If you are not, I would well recommend that you get to the GP and start treatment. You can live a very normal life with anxiety but it does need to be treated.

Have you heard of mindfulness before? It has been a real good help for me and there are a couple of really good apps to help you - Smiling Mind and Buddhify. Only takes 10-20 mins per day and you can learn to ground yourself really well which takes some worry about having attacks in public places.

Hope to hear back and see if we can help you along!

Mark.

[White_Rose]

Hello KMTE

How do you feel on Monday morning? I see you feel less anxious during the weekend. Your time is your own in general and you have your family around. This is comfortable and reassuring. I have four children and taking them to their weekend activities was almost like planning a route march. It was quite common to have at least two children needing to be at the opposite sides of town at the same time.

Despite this there was always a feeling of satisfaction in taking them to hockey, netball, ballet. Sometimes these activities carried over to Sunday. Being with your family is far less stressful than keeping up with your work, with no doubt notable exceptions.

So here you are quite relaxed and comfortable until Monday arrives and work calls. It much easier if you have good relationships with your workmates and are able to have your coffee break with someone you can talk to about your weekend happenings. Remembering how much you enjoyed yourself can be pleasant as you also remember how you felt. There's a lot to be said about speaking of these everyday events.

If you feel your anxiety is getting out of hand and causing you disproportionate stress then it's time to talk to your GP. Anxiety can be managed so you have nothing to lose. Worrying about the possibility of getting a panic attack will not help. Do you have seats when your husband and son are playing their sports? If not I suggest taking a fold up chair with you and get as comfortable as possible. Take a flask of tea/coffee/ hot beverage/cold drink. It's amazing how this helps to get us calm. I remember standing on the side of the hockey field with what feels like gale blowing, walking up and own to keep warm. Eventually I started to plan more and took a chair, warm clothes and the coffee. In summer I added a small umbrella for the sun.

I got the impression you are a teacher but I'm not sure. Please keep on posting if you find it helpful.

Mary

[KMTE]

Thankyou for your responses! Yes I have just started some medication and had my first appointment with my health care nurse so hopefully things start to improve soon! I also use the headspace up daily. Monday morning I feel OK and once it's over the week tends to fly by quiet quickly. Yes I have a chair and a drink and surprisingly yesterday went very well I was quiet calm and focused on the sport itself and my mind felt quite settled. Thankyou both for your tips I appreciate it 🙂

[MarkJT]

KMTE, awesome to hear that you are being treated as there are so many that are not and using the Headspace app as well. You are certainly on the right track and I think that this is reflected on you being nice and calm yesterday.

Remember though that you are a work in progress (as we all are!) so should you get anxious again sometime, it is not a relapse, just stop what you are doing, tell yourself that you are safe and concentrate on your breathing. The anxiety will pass.

Mark.

[KMTE]

Thanks Mark. Funny you say that today has been a bit of a challenge with one physical symptom causing a flow on effect of symptoms and a morning of panic. It's as if I anticipated today would be hard and so it is. Thanks for your response 🙂

[MarkJT]

KMTE, yep all it takes at times is one little thing to set us off and there is the "getting anxious about getting anxious" feeling. Hate that one but it remains the same, stop - tell yourself that you are safe and begin grounding exercises. Repeating myself here but i do that because it works.

Remember this is not an overnight fix but the more you use your grounding techniques, the more advanced they will become.

You are going really well - well done.

Mark

[White_Rose]

Hello KMTE

You are sounding a little more positive in your last posts. Great stuff. Getting anxious about getting anxious is, as Mark says, not good but it happens. The more you practice letting go and centring yourself the easier it will be for you. Do you drive? If so can you remember when you start learning? Nervous as anything and constantly getting things wrong until one day you got in the car and drove without thinking about it.

That's where you can aim for, an automatic successful response to stress. No it's not easy but it is attainable.

There were times when the prospect of being on my own was horrendous. My psychiatrist wanted me to take sick leave but I could not face all that alone time. We agreed I would work four hours a day. It helped me a great deal to be with others even if I was not talking to anyone. Being in the same office as others and the satisfaction of completing my projects really helped.

I think what I am saying is that you can make small moments of happiness to remember and return to when the day is not going so well. Stop going down the old road to worry and stress and take a right turn to some more pleasant thoughts. Not the same as trying to bury the old hurts, that's a job for you and your counsellor.

I have recommended this book to several people on BB. It's called Living with/IT by Bev Aisbett. IT is anxiety and the author describes her battles. It's an easy read with a few cartoons but is full of good ideas and tips from her life. See if your local library has a copy or buy a copy. It's so long since I bought my copy that I cannot remember how much it cost other than very little.

When my children were younger and I was doing the sports etc run I found it satisfying as I could talk to the children while driving. This was my time time with them, singly or more. No I wasn't depressed at that time but it still helped to keep the family together. Maybe you can talk about to your children about whatever has happened in their day. It may also provide you with some healing. You don't need to talk about your problems at all. Simply relax into the feeling of family togetherness. It's a good shield on those days which are not going well.

You are doing fine.

Mary

[KMTE]

Thanks so much Mary. I will have a look for the book. The support from this BB community has been amazing xo

[KMTE]

Thanks Mark!