Healing After Job Loss: 100 Practical Ideas
By Alan D. Wolfelt and Kirby J. Duvall
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About this ebook
Full of practical, time-tested counsel, this handbook offers simple, useful tips and activities to counter the typically negative reactions to job loss, such as loss of self esteem, andexploresthoughts and feelings with the goal of healing. Whether discussing situations when companies have beendownsized or individuals have beenfired, furloughed, or laid off, this guide provides a healthy way of dealing with often overwhelming feelings—of anger, anxiety, depression, and hopelessness—in a healthy, hopeful manner.
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Healing After Job Loss - Alan D. Wolfelt
diem!
CENTRAL NEED OF HEALING 1:
ACKNOWLEDGE THE REALITY OF YOUR JOB LOSS
Losing a job has understandably sent you into shock and disbelief. At first, you’ll simply reel. You’ll ask a lot of questions about why it happened. You’ll have a lot of emotions and thoughts racing around in your head. You’ll grieve your job loss. Be gentle with yourself. Now is the time to take care of your body, find comfort, and accept support from family and friends. In time, and after the shock dissipates, you will come to grips with the reality of your loss and move beyond it into a life that’s transformed—for the better.
1.
RECOGNIZE JOB LOSS AS A LOSS
You’ve lost your job. That’s a big deal. The loss of a job is a major life loss because something that you truly valued is no longer a part of your life.
Most likely, even if you weren’t crazy about your job, there were things about it that you valued. Now these aspects are gone. Maybe you miss the:
- Challenges of your work
- Coworkers
- Comfort of your daily routine
- Energy in your work environment
- Creativity that you expressed through your work
- Security of income, retirement plans, and health insurance
- Identity and self-worth offered by your position
Just as when you lose someone you love to death or divorce, you feel the loss of your job—maybe not to the same extent, but the loss is palpable and real. It shakes up your life and self-confidence.
Job loss creates strong emotions. At first, you may feel devastated and shocked. These feelings might turn to anger, sadness, or self-doubt. Maybe you feel a sense of emptiness or even anger at the injustice of being let go, or at how it was carried out. You could be having racing thoughts about what you should do next. All these feelings are normal after a job loss.
CARPE DIEM
Consider what you valued most about your job. Was it the breakroom conversations, the feeling of being in charge, or the mental challenge of carrying out your duties? Find practical ways to soften a particular loss, today. For example, if you miss coworkers, call your favorites and set up a lunch or coffee date. If it was the challenge, pick up an old project and consider starting it up again.
2.
REALIZE THAT YOU LOST MORE THAN YOUR JOB
Yes, you’ve lost your job, but you’ve also lost all the little things that go with it. Not only have you lost your source of income, you may have also lost your sense of economic stability, security, and a feeling that you have control over your life.
Along with the loss of your job title and position, you may have lost some of your self-identity and self worth. Maybe you don’t see yourself in as positive a light as you did before. Your certainty in your career and job path—and thus your sense of self—has been