Unemployment and Depression With Anxiety

Recently I found out that my work duties have been cut back significantly, leaving me feeling lost and also looking for new work. Job loss can be a significant trigger for depression. This has led me to seek out coping skills to deal with this new reality in my life.

Employment Can Lend a Helpful Structure to Life

When first unemployed, often one hears suggestions to enjoy the time off, which is understandable. But for those prone to depression, the right kind of work can provide an important sense of order and purpose to our lives. Without it, there can be too much free time for rumination and worry. One day, everything is normal and routine. The next, you’re sitting around in yoga pants watching daytime television and wondering how things changed so much so quickly.

I Am Worthy Without My Employment

This may seem an obvious statement but it can be difficult in practice. I’m realizing how easy it was for my job to become a part of my identity. Even the way we describe ourselves can point to this: “I am an attorney. I am a writer.” Who am I without these roles being as active in my life right now? As I search for meaningful work, it is important for me to remind myself of my own intrinsic human value that exists separate and apart from any employment opportunity.

Strategize, Schedulize and Incrementalize to Stave Off Depression During Unemployment

How am I dealing with this potential depression trigger? A friend who recently was searching for employment had a worthy suggestion: strategize, schedulize and incrementalize. Essentially, this means to first, strategize and prioritize what must be done and how you can go about it. Secondly, to set a schedule for following through on these goals. And finally, take incremental steps toward your goals and honor each step along the way. I’ve also found it helpful to use a looseleaf binder to track these three steps. This both helps me remain organized and gives me a sense of accomplishment when I need a boost to keep going.

Dealing With Anxiety and Depression During Unemployment

Anxiety often tends to deal in fears of the future. It’s so easy for my brain to go skipping miles into the future right now, catastrophizing and visualizing an endlessly empty future with no employment opportunities and little-to-no hope. I have to reign it in regularly and focus on the present, otherwise I get stuck in the anxiety. One way I do this is to focus on the phrase, “We’re not there yet.” When worries about the future threaten to engulf me, I try to take a deep breath and remind myself that, “we’re not there yet,” that I’m not dealing with that potential reality yet. I then tell myself that if and when that reality occurs, I will figure it out then. This exercise can go a long way in defusing my anxiety and focusing my energy on what I can do right now.

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