The Sunday Evening Dread

Where to start

• Take the dread as information, and don’t blame yourself for it.
• It also helps to tell one other adult who won’t play it down: “I’m tired in a way I can’t keep being tired in.” If you’ve noticed that the dread has become weekly, there’s an information line you can use. It’s a daytime line, so ring it the next morning, which is often a better time to say it out loud anyway. Mind, 0300 123 3393. Email info@mind.org.uk. Mon-Fri 9am-6pm (except bank holidays). Outside those hours the line is closed. Samaritans answer at any hour on 116 123, and Shout answer if you text the word SHOUT to 85258. Early on, the dread is information; if it has gone on a long time before you say anything, it’s a symptom of something your GP should hear about.

The rest of the tip, with more to try and why it works, is in the library.

It goes with

• The Hour Before Bed. For parents whose child’s bedtime has turned into an hour of worries, questions and meltdowns.
• What to Do When School Is the Problem. For parents whose child has started dreading school.

The first chapter you open here is free to read in full.

Free on this subject

• Parent wellbeing. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.
• Family stress. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.