5th January – the Sunday Blues

“A Sunday well spent brings a week of content.” Proverb

I love this proverb. It speaks to me. Unfortunately, as much as I have tried today, I simply cannot shrug off the horrid Sunday blues. 

In reality, I should be contemplating everything in my life for which I have reason to be grateful. It just isn’t that easy. 

Do you remember being a child at school and feeling that knot in your stomach before going back to school after the holidays? Yes, that is how I feel and I’m not longer the pupil, but the teacher. As teachers, we feel guilt at all the work we haven’t made time to do. If we do undertake work tasks, we then feel guilty about spending time away from our family and friends to make that possible. It’s a never-ending cycle of guilt. I’m now in my fifteenth year of teaching and every single holiday, I feel the same way. 

Today, I have laughed with my children, my partner and my parents. We shared a delicious roast dinner. We played the Strictly Come Dancing game whilst wearing masks of the Strictly judges and presenters. We made use of the air hockey table we were gifted just before Christmas. In fact, all in all, I have had a marvellous day. Yet I cannot shake these feelings of inadequacy and impending doom. 

I know though, the likelihood is that tomorrow will come, I will go to work, teach, return home, tutor, cook and go to bed. Everything will be absolutely fine. It doesn’t help me to shake the worry though. 

If you, like me, suffer from the back to school or Sunday blues, try some of the  following ways to feel happy (I’d love to hear if they made a difference! ):

• Organise everything in advance. Make sure you have your work outfit ready as early as possible in advance. The same goes for packing your bag (and your children’s too!). Teachers amongst us – make sure you have lessons sorted and resourced. If you need to print and photocopy things as soon as you arrive at school, save them in one place, so you know exactly where to find them straight away.
• Once you have everything organised in advance, take the time to enjoy your day. Have a notebook with you. Use this to jot down things that you might have forgotten, but try not to worry too much about these things. We can never do everything we hope to.
• Get yourself into a Sunday evening routine. Maybe you could have a face mask ready or spend time doing your nails whilst indulging in some television. 
• If you are heading out for the day, try to make sure that your meals are prepared for when you return. Alternatively, opt for a takeaway to save on the washing up and stress!
• Don’t sweat the small stuff. Yes, your Monday might be terrible. You might be chasing your tail the entire time, struggling to get tasks done. However, unless the consequences of this happening are dire, you will be ok. It is not the end of the world. As an anxiety sufferer, I know that this is absolutely far easier to say than it is to carry out, but that doesn’t stop me trying!

Good luck to all on your return to work/school. I hope that the week brings you lots of positive surprises!