If you have been recently made unemployed, then you will know how stressful this can be. You may also feel as though you need to find ways to find a new job, but at the same time, you may not know how to navigate your complicated feelings. If you want to find ways to help yourself, then take a look below.
Normalise Your Feelings
41% of people find themselves out of employment at some point in their lives. If you find yourself in a situation like this, then you need to make sure that you normalise your feelings where possible. Validating your feelings is one of the best things that you can do, as it allows you to feel more at ease with your situation so you can move on effectively. Having said that, it is helpful for you to take a more proactive approach. You need to make sure that you do not take your situation personally, and that you also make sure that you put the issue down to the real root cause, which could be market conditions, or it could be something like the company cutting back on things.
Reduce Shame
Another thing you need to try and do is reduce shame if possible. You need to make sure that you do not shy away from things and that you also try to find ways to move forward with your situation. You may be tempted not to go out until after 5 pm, so that people do not see that you are unemployed as well. With that said, this can be harmful and damaging, not only to your mental health, but also to your physical health. Keep in mind that there is nothing wrong with being unemployed, and that now could even be a good time for you to reset in your life. You might want to find a new job that gives you a better work-life balance, for example. If you do this, then you will find it easier to feel more at ease within yourself. If you are out of work because you have experienced an injury, then this could have been because your workplace was unsafe, and in reality, being out of that situation could end up working out well for you, as now you can put your health first. If you have been injured as a result of your place of work, then now could be the time for you to try and file asbestos claims, or something similar that relates to your injury, as you may be entitled to compensation.
Plan Activities
Another thing you need to do is try and plan as many activities as you can. The one consequence of being out of work is that you lose out on the daily structure of having a job. If you want to help yourself, then you need to make sure that you have daily, weekly, and monthly plans that will help you to be more productive overall. Write things down and make sure that you keep track of everything. This will help you to gain some direction, and it will also help you to keep moving forward. If you want to fill your time, then some of the things you can do include trying to learn new skills, as well as increasing your general level of support. Volunteering is a great thing to do here, but at the same time, you may also want to try and take control over your time. Although you may be tempted to devote all of your time to finding a job, you need to avoid this if possible. If you do, then you may find that you end up being swallowed up by your job search, and this can lead to things like burnout. If you want to fix this, then try and find ways to build your job search into your schedule.
It may be that you try and search for a job for an hour a day, but then you try to move on to other things to fill your time.
Be Flexible
You also need to try and be flexible in your job search. You may find that it is all too easy to get tethered to what you have been doing and what you want to do in the future. Although there is nothing wrong with this, you need to make sure that you expand your search so you can look into different types of work. Although it’s not always possible, you also need to try and find ways to be more flexible with your job, as well as look into new doors that you could open. It may be that you look into working abroad, for example, as this could allow you to go on holiday more often, while being able to expand your skills even more. If you limit yourself to just working in your local area, then you may find it harder to get a job, and you may also find that you end up being in a similar situation to what you are now, especially if there is some degree of economic uncertainty within your sector.
Give Yourself Credit
You also need to try and give yourself credit if you can. Every day is going to present a new opportunity for you to explore, even if it doesn’t seem that way at the time. Remember that all you can do is your best, and if you are having a hard time, you’re not alone, and it’s not your fault. As long as you are pushing ahead and trying to find new positions that align with you, you should not have an issue. If you want to show yourself more kindness, then try and think about what you would say to a friend who is in your position, rather than talking to yourself harshly all the time. If you can do this, then you should find it easier to make changes that go on to positively impact you.
