Monday blues can simply be defined as sadness, or a lower mood at the beginning of the week due to work-related factors
It is defined as “negative feelings that some people have at the end or beginning of the week” in Jessica Caporuscio’s article in Medical News Today. Even though Monday blues isn’t a medical term that can be diagnosed, it can have major impacts on your mood. Even though it’s not in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, text revision (DSM-5-TR), it’s a very real condition for the ones who are affected by it. A recent study that’s been conducted in 2020 signals that Monday blues can indeed be very real. During the study, employees are asked how do they feel after weekends, and employees reported that at the beginning of the week, they feel more stressed and their job satisfaction is lower.
Symptoms of Monday Blues
The main symptom is a bad mood and work-related stress. However, it must be noted that since Monday blues isn’t being recognized as a disorder, the symptoms which are listed below are widely similar to those of stress and anxiety disorders. The symptoms are:
- Sadness,
- Uneasiness, a constant sense of worry,
- Sleeping troubles,
- Headaches
- Muscle tension
- Fast heartbeat,
- Increased blood pressure
Please do not hesitate to contact a mental health professional or your doctor if you are experiencing depression or lasting symptoms of anxiety. They can help you overcome the condition by creating a treatment plan for you.
8 Tips on how you can avoid Monday blues
Here we listed some tips that can help you with
1 – Exercise:
According to Medical News Today, exercise can help you boost your mood and can ease up your symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. The general recommendation is 150 minutes of moderate activity exercise per week. Regular physical activities such as walking, cycling, and jogging can both help your mental and physical health.
2 – Journaling:
You can resort to journaling about whatever is causing you anxiety. It can give you a fresh perspective and can help you understand the root causes of your concerns.
3 – Plan fun activities for Monday evening:
You can use Monday evenings to treat yourself. Mondays can be long and tiring. You can arrange a meet-up with your friends or family, you can take yourself out to eat at a nice restaurant, can see a movie you like, or cook your favorite meal for dinner… You can arrange fun activities for Monday so that Mondays will be something to look forward to.
4 – Meditation:
You can try to meditate on Sundays, or you can meditate on Monday mornings to lift your energy and help with your mood. You can also try to meditate before you go to bed to help get better sleep at night.
5 – Have a healthy sleep cycle:
Not getting enough sleep will result in increased levels of fatigue. Try to get around 8 hours of sleep every night to feel more well-rested. Try to stick to your routine even if it’s the weekend.
6 – Try to have an easy Monday:
If you get the chance, try to schedule your Monday without heavy tasks or long meetings. Having a relaxed Monday would ease your transition from a relaxed weekend to your working days.
7 – Arrange your weekends mainly around resting:
Try to find activities that help your anxiety and mental health. Don’t bring your work home on weekends and give yourself some space to completely rest and relax. Try not to spend your time worrying about work-related problems. This would also lower your likelihood of suffering burnout.
8 – Contact a doctor:
It’s important to know when it’s more than Monday blues. If you are concerned about the severity of your symptoms, don’t hesitate to contact your doctor.
