The worst day of the week has been named, and no, it’s not Monday

"Sunday is the worst day of the week. Every Sunday, all these emotions just hit out of nowhere. Loneliness, anxiety, sadness, numbness. Please tell me I'm not the only one who gets the Sunday blues."

It's a quote that has gone viral on TikTok, with many people relating to the overwhelming feeling of gloom that can arrive on Sundays.

"Sunday Scaries are the worst," one person commented on the video.

"I have breakdowns almost every Sunday," added another.

"Sometimes they overwhelm me so much because all I can think about is another tiring week again," wrote a third.

"Everything always hits worse on Sunday," said another.

Watch: The loneliness epidemic is as deadly as smoking | 60 Minutes Australia. Post continues after video.

Yep, Sad Sundays are a real thing. And it's not just TikTok that thinks so.

"Sunday depression, sometimes referred to as the Sunday blues, can refer to the feelings of sadness, hopelessness and dissatisfaction that many experience on Sundays, particularly in the evenings, as the week ahead grows closer and closer," reads a statement from Better Help.

Okay, but why? Why do so many of us find ourselves miserable come Sunday night?

For starters, as most Australians have a Monday-to-Friday work week, Sunday can represent a final day of 'freedom' before the old rat race starts for another five days.

"I think, for some people, it may be related to early attachment experiences around Mondays," psychologist Dr Katie Kjelsaas told Mamamia.

"For others, it may be related to our natural resistance to transitions, dissatisfaction with work and/or the ways in which modern pressures disconnect us from more nourishing, natural rhythms."

Sundays also often mark the end of our recreational time for the weekend as we start to prepare for the week ahead.

"From Friday evening, many of us engage in recreational, self-nourishment and self-care activities that align more closely with our life values, meaning and purpose, as well as providing necessary rest and restoration," said Kjelsaas.

"Typically, people engage in fewer social activities on a Sunday, often preserving this day for necessary preparations for the week ahead."

This, said Kjelsaas, can induce a sense of melancholy, loss, or even anxiety.

"For those who do not find meaning or purpose in the activities of their work week, this transition may be even more pronounced."

However, while face-to-face communication may be more rare on Sundays, online discourse suggests there is a spike in dating app usage on the ~dreaded~ day.

In a Reddit thread about dating apps, called What's the best day of the week to match with someone?, the most common answer was Sunday.

"Swipe on Sundays (lots of people are home doing chores)," one user wrote.

"I'd say Sundays. People seem to be at home.... They seem to have the time to scroll through the apps on Sunday evenings," added another.

"I have to say Sunday evening. Gives you a whole week to text, FaceTime and make plans for a date on the weekend," wrote a third.

In fact, according to research from Psychology Today, the first Sunday of the new year is known as "Dating Sunday", as it's predicted to be the busiest day of the year on dating apps.

"This could be linked to feelings of loneliness," said Kjelsaas. "In research, primary sadness is associated with two action tendencies: to seek comfort from 'safe' others, or to withdraw and self-comfort (where it's perceived there are no 'safe' others available).

"People who have at least some level of confidence in finding connection — or even distraction — via dating apps may open these on Sundays in an attempt to soothe the primary sadness that comes with loneliness."

In a more metaphorical sense, Sundays can seem like a "little death" in time.

"Life presents a natural rhythm that mimics the passage of an entire lifespan," explained Kjelsaas. "Many poets and philosophers have described this: sunrise and early morning like a birth, the climb toward midday like youth, the climb down across the afternoon like middle age, descending then into the ageing and 'death' of evening and sleep."

According to the psychologist, "a week" can follow this same arc, with Sunday signifying the end of another cycle.

"While Sunday is seen by many as the 'official' first day of the week, in practice it is the last for most of us, with our next week beginning with the work of Monday morning, thus that descent into Sunday afternoon and evening represents another 'little death' in the inexorable passage of time. Another week gone, finished, lost," she said.

So, yeah, Sundays can be pretty depressing.

When it comes to beating the Sunday Blues, Kjelsaas suggests to practice "mindful awareness".

"Accept and honour it, then decide what you'd like to do in order to respond adaptively to it," she said.

"For some, this may mean planning ahead for more deliberate contact with friends or loved ones on this day, or engaging in voluntary service to support others. For others, it may mean leaning in to solo activities that still reinforce a sense of connection, like calling friends.

"For still others, this may mean embracing and leaning in to relationship with the self through journalling, mindful body practices, and more."

Feature Image: Universal Pictures/Studio Canal.