Fear, stress and unemployment

The word unemployment seems to explode with feelings of fear, stress and all kinds of emotional negativity. Throw into that cauldron the added ingredient of being over fifty and you have a brew that is hard to swallow.


If you are lucky enough to still be working you are probably worrying night and day that you will still have a job tomorrow. Companies in the past year have cut way back on the number of employees that they have. Many people think that they can’t cut anymore, but that is little reassurance to those who still have jobs. The stress of this burden can weigh heavily on anyone, especially those who are just a few years from retirement. It is difficult to stay positive through all of this but you must. Stress can harm you in so many ways such as high blood pressure and heart disease. You need to be at full strength to get through this tough time and that means to stay healthy.

Easier said than done (I know)

If you have already lost your job and you are in the middle of a job search where the results have been rather dismal, then it wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that you are afraid. No one can blame you because work, a job, your livelihood defines you in society besides paying the bills. Your self-worth is low and can’t be much lower. So what do you do?

Reexamine who you are and what you are. You are more than just some guy who use to go to work and get a paycheck. You are much more than that. Your job may be gone but not your dignity. You have to know in your heart that you will find another job, maybe not what you want, but you will. You are the same person before you starting working and you will be the same person long after you retire. Your value as a human being doesn’t drop sharply because you were let go at your last job.

Don’t let fear and stress weaken you and make you think that there is something wrong with you because you don’t have a job right now. This is just a hard time, indeed a hard time for many people, stay strong and positive and believe in yourself.