It’s a feeling Ash Hussain, 52, knows all too well. Hussain was working as a senior picture editor on a national newspaper, a position he had held for more than a decade, when one afternoon, in the autumn of 2011, he learnt he had been made redundant and was out of a job due to company cutbacks. “It was completely out of the blue and a total shock,” he says. “It is probably one of the most horrific things I’ve ever experienced in my life. I had a young family and all I could think was, ‘How will I pay the bills and mortgage? Am I going to lose the house?’ The redundancy package helped but I was still incredibly anxious and became quite depressed. I kept thinking, ‘What did I do wrong?’”
Hussain eventually found freelance work through an old colleague, which led to a full-time position within a year. “Looking back now, I would tell people not to panic – take a deep breath, clear your head and then get back to looking for a job. Reach out to friends and family and former colleagues who can help you through the process.”
Simon Coombs, a therapist registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP), agrees with his sentiment.
While suddenly joining the ranks of the unemployed will likely leave most of us feeling lost and confused, there are steps that will help you regain control, he says.
Acknowledge how you feel
“It’s death by 1,000 cuts if you’re in a situation where you know you’re soon going to be out of work,” says Coombs, while a sudden unexpected job loss can hit us even harder. “It can have a massive psychological impact and trigger trauma, which presents itself in different ways.”
“There’s often a feeling of dejection or betrayal, especially if you invested your heart and soul into your work and were performing well but were let down by others,” adds Coombs, who is also the founder and director of Working Minds, an organisation supporting unemployed people with their mental health and wellbeing. “Where MPs are concerned, they may have been doing a good job in their constituencies, but the bigger picture has failed them.”
Loss – of power, identity, routine and meaning – can leave people feeling isolated and cut adrift from society and the world of work, he says.
“We’ll be wondering what we’re going to do with ourselves and feeling rudderless. Then, there’s anxiety due to the fact that we’ve lost the certainty of our monthly paycheck and, potentially, the ability to pay the mortgage,” Coombs says.
“Even those individuals who have financial security and stability need to start thinking about what they’re going to do to keep the lifestyle that they’re used to.” They may need to come to grips with the benefits system, which is a difficult landscape to navigate, he adds.
All of this uncertainty and stress can lead to depression but those who find themselves jobless can take practical steps to feel more in charge.
Take time to process what’s happened
“When we don’t have a job, the first thing most people do is desperately look for another one,” Coombs says.
But if possible, people should have a short break from anything work-related, even if it’s just to spend a couple of days doing practical jobs around the house or garden, he says.
This can help people process what they’ve been through and reduce their risk of rushing into decisions they might later regret, such as taking a job they don’t actually want.
Make a plan
Consider how you’re going to replace your lost income and whether you want to remain in the same sector, work in another industry or study towards something new.
“Some people go back into education, some retrain, some upskill – there are genuinely a lot of opportunities, regardless of age or the stage of your career,” Coombs says.
After reaching a decision, make a time-bound plan that sets goals, he recommends. These could include making sure your CV is up to date and well-presented, getting up to speed on how to search for jobs online and signing up with recruitment companies.
“You’ll suddenly start to feel more in control of your own destiny, and your mental health and wellbeing will benefit accordingly.”
Create a healthy daily routine
Create a healthy routine which includes exercise, eating healthily, drinking enough water and spending time with loved ones, Coombs recommends. “This is key to recovery and claiming back a sense of control. Ensure you have a daily focus and stick to it.”
“What we mustn’t do is shrink into an isolated kind of existence,” he says. “If you live alone, make sure that you’re reaching out to friends and family.”
Anyone struggling to cope with being unemployed should consider turning to therapy, with six to 10 sessions usually required to come to terms with a job loss, Coombs says. “The BACP has a directory of registered therapists who can help you get away from the ‘why’ and ‘what if’ to help you look beyond it, so you land on a more positive outcome.”