The Unemployed Life
Coping with Long-Term Unemployment
Heading into a yoga class in Miami last week, I met a woman who was also from New York. Like most of us, she walked fast and talked fast. But even for a New Yorker she seemed a little…on edge.
She worried aloud about whether she was experienced enough for the class, worried about where she was going to go next, worried about the apartment she’d bought in a neighborhood she didn’t like.
During our conversation it emerged that she’d lost her job a couple of years ago and was still unemployed. I sensed that her jobless state didn’t cause her sprawling anxiety, but it did seem possible that it was part of a dreadful spiral—unemployment feeding unhappiness, making it harder to find a job, which caused more unhappiness.
In August, 30 percent of Americans who were unemployed had been out of work for over a year, according to an analysis by the Pew Fiscal Analysis Initiative. That’s about 4.4 million people—not just a big economic problem, but a big psychological one.
So how do you keep your chin up if you’ve been jobless for a while? Here is some of the advice out there (and in here):
Get out. “Isolation is a dangerous thing,” psychiatrist Robert London told Forbes. “When you live in your head, you ruminate and feed your depression,”
Give yourself structure. “Having a schedule you can rely on will help keep you from going insane,” says CNNMoney.com.
Start something. We know a little something about this. Whether it’s a blog, new business, or home repair project, having something to invest in can be invaluable.
As a friend of mine recently advised, “If it’s not working, change something.” If you’ve been relentlessly hunting for the same job you had and not getting anywhere, it might be time to re-examine your career goals.
Mix it up. Take on some freelance assignments, get a part-time job (even if it pays crap) and/or do some volunteer work. Modern Gal dishes out advice from a friend who was unemployed for months, and who was burned out on revising her resume.
Travel. Adventures don’t have too cost a lot of money, and taking a literal step back from your life can give you perspective and inspiration. Leaving town for a week will not make you miss out on a job opportunity.
Be thankful. Gratitude journals can sound silly, but being aware of the good things in life—even if they seem few and small—can be powerful stuff. Take five minutes every day to write down what there is to be grateful for. Positive tidbits really add up.
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5 comments for “Coping with Long-Term Unemployment”
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Sounds like solid advise for those looking to survive a minor bump in their career road (that is, under a year away from the work force), but when you’ve been out of work for over 4 years (Ivy league and cant even get a managerial spot at the local convenience store), owe over 80K in school loans, have a mortgage on a house that you are about to default on, have tapped your entire retirement savings dry, have literally driven the coastline on marathon interviews and in attendance of countless specified job fairs, and have volunteered/done pro-bono work for potential employers for months without even a table scrap being thrown your way (such as a low paying short-term contract or part time job), their is no “coping” left to do, I am sorry to say.
sorry, “there” or their.
not their that is
Article is sound; and, facing and have faced others in this exact scenario, I recall listening to Roger Crawford 18 years ago at a Cal State FFA conference in SLO. Each time I think it’s bad, I think back to this man’s journey as a challenged but not surrendered quadraplegic – http://www.rogercrawford.com/ – Overcoming these current financial hurtles requires constant focusing upward in Attitude (A), maintaining positive Communication (C), and doing it with Enthusiasm (E). Not a panacea; but, Roger’s simple ACE to Success metaphor helps to me to benchmark where things are really at.
Roger’s attitude is laudable, and I certainly wouldn’t wish his situation on anyone. That said, no one looks at that level of disability and expects that person to be gainfully employed, and let us not forget that such persons have SSDI and Medicare while the long-term unemployed have neither income nor medical benefits.