Sunday Scaries: ADHD Edition

The Sunday Scaries: How ADHD Brains Struggle with Transitions

The Sunday Scaries—like clockwork, every week, my daughter and I hit Sunday afternoon or evening and feel that familiar dread creeping in.

For some of us with ADHD, transitions are HARD! Starting a new task or transitioning from relax mode to work mode, can feel like you just can’t do it, no matter how hard you try.

Why Are Sundays So Hard?

For ADHD brains, a mix of anxiety, overwhelm, and emotional disorganization can make the Sunday Scaries particularly challenging.

• Anticipatory Anxiety: I see this a lot with my child. They can think about their entire day or week, and everything hits them in one minute where they are completely overwhelmed and having anxiety. (Now you know, between myself and my daughter, what fuels my passion for wanting to help others with ADHD.)
• Emotional Overload: ADHDers know too well here that we have so many emotions and sometimes don’t even know what emotions we’re feeling. I went through six weeks of ADHD coaching with this awesome coach that lives in the UK, and I’m happy to recommend her to anyone if you ask me. I like to take what I learned and apply it in my sessions using the emotions wheel and character strengths as needed and see where in the body you’re feeling them (like tightness in the chest for example).
• Time BlindnessTime doesn’t always feel linear for ADHDers.Weekends can feel like they flew by, making it hard to believe Monday is already here. Tasks often feel like they’ll “take forever,” leading to procrastination. Planning ahead might feel impossible, leaving us scrambling when the clock catches up. Time blindness adds to the feeling of “never enough time”—for rest, for play, for work.
• Executive FunctionExecutive function is the part of the brain responsible for planning, prioritizing, and following through on tasks. For ADHD brains, this system often works on a delay or feels completely offline when:
  • Starting Tasks: The mental load of figuring out how to begin can feel insurmountable.
  • Completing Tasks: Losing track of steps or hitting a wall mid-task adds frustration.
  • Regulating Emotions and Focus: The inability to shift from one mode (weekend) to another (work) without emotional resistance can make transitions feel overwhelming.
  A critical component of executive function is emotional regulation—the ability to manage and respond to emotional experiences appropriately. This connection is particularly significant in individuals with ADHD, who often face challenges in both executive functioning and emotional regulation.
• Regulation StrugglesADHD brains struggle to regulate emotions as mentioned above, as well as dopamine and energy levels. This can lead to:
  • Last-Minute Motivation: Waiting until the very last minute to complete tasks because the adrenaline or cortisol rush of a looming deadline is the only thing that creates focus.
  • Stress Build-Up: Operating under constant pressure to meet deadlines can make jobs more stressful, adding to Sunday anxiety.
  • Emotional Dysregulation: Feeling overly anxious about work tasks we know we should start but can’t seem to tackle.

Connecting with Your Body

Since we have so many emotions and don’t always know exactly what we’re feeling, it helps to pause and focus on different areas of the body. This can be done anytime but of course helps during energy healing to let your practitioner know where/what you are feeling.

It could be tightness in the chest (anxiety), restless legs (suppressed/built-up energy), or I’ve had many clients with stomach issues, which can be many things. Our stomach correlates to our solar plexus chakra, and one example is if you spend a lot of your time doing things you don’t want to do, that can cause blocks or imbalances in your solar chakra.

How I’m Working to Ease the Sunday Scaries

To tackle this weekly struggle, I’m developing a package specifically designed to help you ease the Sunday Scaries. This series of recordings will include:

• Energy Healing & Crystal Chakra Healing: We’ll ground and focus on rebalancing root, solar, heart, third eye, and crown chakras as those all play a part in managing overwhelm.
• Sound Healing: Using calming frequencies to relax your nervous system and create a sense of inner peace.
• Reframing Practices: Helping to release subconscious beliefs, combat negative mindsets and overwhelm.

I’m excited to share more about this upcoming series of recordings. If you’re ready to ease the transition into “work mode” and also receive relief from stress and anxiety, then this package is for you.

And if you’re looking for real-time support, I’d love to work with you in a live 1:1 session. Together, we can process what you’re feeling, clear energy blocks, and create a sense of peace and balance.