Depression and potentially losing a job

[MsAnxious]

Hi all

I have been dealing with depression and anxiety for a couple of years and am in the care of a psychiatrist. Recently I learned that my job is likely to be made redundant in the next 3 to 6 months. I have worked hard for this job and the income pays for our comfortable lifestyle. Without my job, we will need to drastically adjust the lifestyle. I have been feeling very upset since I learnt about the potential redundancy. My husband can’t understand why I am so upset. My mind is fixated on the likelihood of the job searches that I might have to go through, and the likelihood of not being able to find the same as good a job. Please I just need someone to tell me to get a grip and that all things considered losing a job is not that big a deal! For some reason I just can’t shake the doom and gloom. Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards

MsAnxious

[Gambit87]

Hi MsAnxious!

Another way of looking at it - You're (potentially) being made redundant - you're are not being fired! This is totally outside of your control - Yes, it sucks and you may need to adjust a little, but why get upset over something you have 0 control over (forgive me if that sounds harsh - did not mean for that to sound harsh haha).

whats good here is your employer has given you a timeframe! so you should start figuring out your next move now so there is little time between jobs as possible.

chin up - you'll be right 🙂

[Kat_]

Hi MsAnxious,

I'm really sorry to hear about everything that's going on for you. It's really scary when you've worked hard for something and it might be taken away from you, as Gambit87 said, that's totally out of your control. I really appreciate how you must be feeling and why this makes you worry so much, and it's fair to take some time and feel the way you need to feel.

Something that happens when we worry though, is that we tend to look at it exclusively in worst-case scenarios, or negatives only, because we think it makes us better prepared - for example, you're worried about looking on the job market, or what if there are no jobs as good as the one you have now... etc. What about the alternative? What if there are heaps of jobs? What if there's a job that might be absolutely perfect for you, even better than the one you have now? Or, what if this gives you a chance to strip back and re-evaluate, or time to work on old hobbies?

I wonder if maybe you could counter some of the uncertainty that's making you anxious - have a look at what jobs are out there, or speak to your employer and ask for an update on the likelihood of your job being made redundant - are there positions within that company that you can think about, etc..?

Wishing you the best of luck,

K

[Truc]

Hi MsAnxious
My family lost jobs before, so I kind of can relate to you, we also had to go through some difficulties but at the end it turns out not to be that bad as we expected, there were few relatives had helped us through, and we got up on the ground afterwards, so i think when the worst scenario had come we thought we could not handle it but it is actually okay if we try to adjust i suppose, we are human beings, we can adapt in almost every situation come across, so I think u and me are not exceptions. This idea can also apply for a job as well, if later u have a new job, I think when a job is new or an environment in there is new for you, i think it takes time to get used to and maybe do u think the latter sometimes is the better?