Seven in 10 people experience ‘Sunday scaries’, poll suggests

Nearly seven in 10 people regularly feel dread on Sundays about the week ahead, with the figure rising among young people, a poll has found.

The feeling, often dubbed the “Sunday scaries”, is experienced by some 67 per cent of people, the poll of more than 4,000 people suggests.

This figure rises to 74 per cent among those aged 18 to 24.

Those who get the “Sunday scaries” say that the causes of stress and anxiety include work worries, lack of sleep and looming to-do lists.

The poll was conducted for the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) as it launches a campaign called Better Health – Every Mind Matters.

The campaign urges people to do small things that would make a big difference to their mental wellbeing.

It comes as NHS trusts warned of growing demand for mental health services outstripping the ability to provide them due to a severe shortage of staff.

Health secretary Therese Coffey said: “My focus is on making sure people can get the care they need, when they need it - and that includes for their mental wellbeing.

“The Every Mind Matters tool is a great way to build your mental resilience and help ward off the anxiety many of us feel on a Sunday.”

The campaign’s website helps people to create a free “mind plan” of tips and provides sections with information on how to deal with anxiety, money worries and child mental health.

But with millions of Britons taking on extra jobs to help make ends meet amid the cost of living crisis and young people worrying they can’t afford to buy food this winter, hospital trusts are urging the government to prioritise a national mental health plan.

In addition, a survey found that millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) feel less in control of their finances than any other generation as the crisis impacts both short-term and long-term financial goals.

NHS Providers’ interim chief executive Saffron Cordery said that while Every Mind Matters is a welcome initiative, “trusts are concerned about the effect of rising inequality on people’s mental health”.

“We must address deep-rooted and complex factors influencing poor mental health too,” she said. “Mental health services are doing everything they can to expand and provide the best possible care with the staff and resources available in the face of growing demand.

“There are almost 1.8 million people on mental health waiting lists.

“Overstretched services face severe workforce shortages while people’s needs are becoming more serious and more complex, partly as a result of the pandemic.”

Cordery warned that the rising cost of living is “harming people’s physical and mental health as financial pressures take their toll”.

“Government support for and recognition of the importance of early intervention is also welcome.

“But we need to know that the cross-government mental health plan remains a priority for ministers - and will be backed up by the support and funding mental health services and their partners require to deliver the level of care that people with mental health problems need, when they need it.”

Additional reporting by PA