Beating the Monday blues and the Sunday scaries

SALT LAKE CITY – So many people experience the Monday blues and even the “Sunday scaries.” But why?

In the latest Let’s Get Moving with Maria podcast episode, host Maria Shilaos spoke with Jodi Wellman, TEDx Speaker and Founder of Four Thousand Mondays, about how we can stop dreading the beginning of the week and start making those days count.

The Monday blues is a real phenomenon that researchers have looked into. What they found was that it’s a little different from the weekend effect, which is when our mood tends to spike starting Friday afternoon until Sunday.

Wellman says Mondays do have a cultural implication that we have to get back to the grind. That’s why it often impacts our mood, and it’s usually an indication of a few things.

“For many people, unfortunately, it’s an indication that we just don’t like our jobs,” she said.

Then there are people who think that their job is good enough, but once Monday comes, the fun is over. They start dreading the work week and living for the weekend.

The third indication is that there’s a bit of social anxiety around the idea of getting caught up again when you’re connecting back on Mondays. Researchers have shown that this happens to many people.

Aren’t we supposed to love our job? Wellman says it’s dangerous to believe that work should be an area and source of passion.

“I think there’s a big PR campaign going on around in our society that work needs to be the epicenter of our passion,” Wellman said.

Work is work. That means there are going to be parts of it that we don’t enjoy.

Listen to the full episode below to hear the rest!

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