Form: DX-01 · Condition, self-reported
Reported by: Keith, fourth floor
Status: Chronic. Weekly.

What is Mondayitis?

Mondayitis is the sluggish, can't-face-it feeling at the start of the working week: tired, slow and reluctant to begin. It's informal slang, mostly Australian and New Zealand, and a joke rather than a medical condition.

I get it every week. HR queues the Monday memos at 11pm on Sunday, and by 9am I've printed 400 of them. Nobody reads them. Then someone puts a sandwich on me.

How to spell it

The usual spelling is Mondayitis, one word. You'll also see:

Monday-itis, with a hyphen, which is also fine.
Monday itis, as two words, which is less common.
Mondayitus and Mondaitis, which are misspellings. The ending is -itis, as in tonsillitis.

Say it "MUN-day-EYE-tis". It rhymes with bronchitis, which is not a coincidence.

Where the word comes from

It's Monday plus -itis, the medical ending for inflammation, as in tonsillitis or appendicitis. People have long borrowed -itis to make jokey "conditions": American students get senioritis in their final year, or reply-all-itis in any office with a shared inbox. Mondayitis is the one that turns up every week.

It's most at home in Australia and New Zealand, where it's everyday slang (the Macquarie and Collins dictionaries both list it). In the UK and the US people more often say they have the "Monday blues" or "a case of the Mondays".

Is Mondayitis real?

The feeling is. The illness isn't. Going from a weekend of your own hours back to an alarm and a commute takes adjusting to, and plenty of people feel slower and flatter on a Monday morning. That's normal, and it usually wears off by lunchtime.

If the dread isn't just Mondays, though, and you feel low or anxious about work most days for weeks, that's not a joke condition. Talk to a doctor, or someone you trust. There's more on the Sunday scaries page, including helplines.

Symptoms (unofficial)

Reading the same email three times and still not knowing what it wants.
A strong urge to reorganise your desktop icons.
Saying "how was your weekend?" with no intention of listening.
Counting the Mondays until you retire. That one is my fault.

Questions

What does Mondayitis mean?

How do you spell Mondayitis?

Mondayitis, as one word, is the usual spelling. Monday-itis with a hyphen is also common. Mondayitus is a frequent misspelling: the ending is -itis, as in tonsillitis.

Is Mondayitis a real illness?

No. It's a jokey name for a common feeling, not a diagnosis. If you feel low or dread work most days, not just on Mondays, it's worth talking to a doctor or someone you trust.

What is the cure for Mondayitis?

There isn't one, but a lighter Monday helps: plan Monday's first task on Friday, get to bed at a normal time on Sunday, and save one small thing to look forward to on Monday.

The honest tip

Decide Monday's first job on Friday afternoon and leave it on top of the pile, something small you can finish by ten. Starting is the worst part of a Monday, and it's easier when you've already decided where. I do this every week. My first job is always "warm up". It takes four minutes and I enjoy every one.