Overcome Depression After Job Loss – Symptoms and Solutions
Losing your job could be much more than just losing the financial support and benefits. A working adult often merges his identity as a person with their job, especially who are the main wage-earners of a family. That’s why losing a job can affect the mood and mentality of a person to a great degree, due to which one may experience low self-esteem and helplessness. The depression that occurs after job loss is much obvious as job loss affects one’s habitual lifestyle, routine, professional identity, security, and self-worth.
Although it is normal to feel sad after you lose your job, but if the anxiety and uneasiness aren’t going away, then you must determine whether it’s just sadness or you have fallen into mental depression. Depression is a mental disease that affects mental stability, appetite, thought process, and even the well-being of physical health. Depression could lead to dangerous consequences and is capable of straining away every ounce of happiness and positivity from your life.
Here are some common depression symptoms that you may experience after losing your job –
- Low Self-Esteem – This symptom is greatly associated with depression due to job loss. Having a job is closely related to people’s identity as a professional, so losing the job often make them question their capability and self-worth.
- Anxiety – Depression and anxiety goes hand in hand and is often co-dependent. Anxiety is a more commonplace feeling, although when coupled with depression, it can cause bloated stress weighing the affected person down.
- Fatigue and Sleep Disorders – After losing your job, if you are feeling stubborn fatigue that is not going away or there is a change in the sleep pattern, it could be due to depression.
- Pessimism about Life – Depression is a subtle yet powerful mental disease that can eat away your healthy outlook on life in general. You may grow more and more pessimistic about the future ahead.
How to cope with depression?
Here are a couple of things that you can try on the personal end to heal yourself.
Grieving is okay; continuing is not – Losing a job will make you sad and numb. Grieve in your way, and let your feelings come out. Cry if you want to, but when it’s over, do not dwell on those feelings anymore.
Stick to a routine – Not going to work should not translate into disrupted routines. Make a strict routine of what you usually do, whether household work, hobbies, or cooking, and continue doing your best in every little task. Use the time of office hours to upgrade yourself with activities and job hunting. Do not settle until you find what you are searching for.
Take a Break – Take the twists and turns of life with positivity, and have an attitude that things happen for a good reason. You had days going in and out and possibly hadn’t had the time to take a break. So, breathe, let go, and rediscover yourself with new opportunities!
Don’t underestimate the need for professional help – Depression treatment needs to be carried out on a personal level and with the assistance of a medical expert. If you are experiencing the above symptoms, seek medical help from psychiatrists. Dr. Pankaj Kumar is a renowned depression specialist and claims to be the best psychiatrist in Delhi. Depression is a global problem, and it has taken millions of precious lives prematurely. Early detection and treatment and mental awareness of the disease can save you and many others.