Why the TikTok girlies are freaking out about the ‘August scaries’, which are very real

The Sunday scaries are bad enough: the feeling of anxiety or dread that many people experience on Sunday evenings as they anticipate the week ahead.

But TikTok girlies have now given summer its own version: the August scaries. It’s that uneasy feeling when summer isn’t technically over, but the clock is ticking.

The evenings are still long, the beer gardens are still open, and the last bank holiday is still fresh in memory. September is creeping closer, bringing uni move-ins, new routines, and 9am lectures or office starts. The carefree days of summer start to feel like they’re slipping away.

A girl on TikTok called Regan has summed it up perfectly in a post that’s been viewed over 72,000 times.

@regansweeney

august is the world’s longest sunday scary 🫠 #Summer

♬ original sound – REGAN SWEENEY

“June is Friday. July is Saturday. And August is Sunday. June is still busy with work and school, but Summer’s almost here. Then you have July, the most perfect month of the year, just like Saturday. But then we have August, which feels like the longest Sunday scary of the year. It’s still the weekend, but it feels like it’s coming to a close any minute. Why am I just realising this?”

 “I’m getting the August scaries, I hate this feeling every year,” one commenter said. Others  agreed, describing August as a stretch of low-level anxiety that builds as the season winds down.

Adina Babad, a licensed mental-health counselor, told Newsweek that seasonal transitions can bring up anxious feelings because they mark the passing of time.

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“Summer especially is associated for many of us with freedom, whether because, growing up, we always had summer breaks and now associate summer with that free time, or because we get more daylight, which often positively impacts our mood,” Babad said.

To beat the scaries, she recommends reflecting on summer’s highlights, listing things to look forward to in the coming months (binging Gilmore Girls), and actively planning events or activities that make you feel happy.

So, it’s not just about the end of holidays. It’s about the mental shift from freedom to responsibility, from long summer evenings to darker nights and looming deadlines.

That’s the thing about August. It’s technically still summer, but it already feels like the weekend is ending. The good news? You can totally get past that feeling.

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Featured image credit: Unsplash/Sean Oulashin, Mott Rodehea