MIA

I suspect that I am not the only one to suffer from MIA (Monday Induced Anxiety). This seldom-discussed ailment strikes at various times during the weekend, but tends to peak on Sunday evenings. The cause is stress incurred from the anticipation of the upcoming week. Symptoms include:
* irritability
* insomnia
* fatigue
* changes in appetite

Severity of symptoms increase in direct proportion to the amount of time taken off before returning to work on Monday.

Speaking from personal experience, I am usually stressing about the vast amount of work I have to do, the questionable amount of energy I have to do the vast amount of work, changes to the routine, preparing for upcoming events, and the details involved with managing a home. It may not be just a coincidence that a majority of my flares begin on a Monday!

I wish I could be Zen and just let go of all these expectations and pressure I put on myself to get stuff done.  Then maybe MIA wouldn't bother me so much. I know during the summer, I rarely suffer any MIA symptoms!

These are the things that I do to help alleviate the symptoms:
* Have my classroom completely ready for Monday morning. That way I don't have to rush to get to school early to finish anything needed for the day.
* Packing lunches the night before. I ALWAYS tell myself "I can do this in the morning." And I ALWAYS kick myself the next morning when I didn't do it the night before.
* Packing the gym bag. On Mondays, that means having yoga clothes ready.
* Having my purse/bag full of stuff needed for class on Monday together so I can just grab and go
* Locate my keys. They always seem to take trips on the weekend when I'm not looking.
* Take a few minutes to just focus on breathing.

Once I get going at work, I am generally so busy that all the things I was anxious about fade to the background. Until I get home on Monday evening.......

Do you suffer from MIA? How do you treat it?

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