So you’ve lost your job, how to deal?

So it’s happened. Maybe it was obviously on the horizon, maybe it’s come straight out of the blue. But now it’s happened.

Losing your job is a lot like any other loss you may experience in terms of the emotional states you are likely to go through, but at the other end you will realise that things aren’t actually that bad.

The five classic emotional responses to loss are: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. If you feel yourself going through any or all of these then at the very least be comforted by the fact that what you are going through is natural.

What you want to do is to get through to stage 5 as quickly as possible with the least amount of time in the other four.

Over the coming weeks we’ll have a look at each of these stages in more detail and I’d love to hear your experiences of these.

To begin with the important word after losing your job is: Stabilize. Take a few days break if you need it, doing only a few important things, and take the time to work through your emotions and feelings.

The important things to do in those few days are:
– Read through the Redundancy letter you received and make sure you action anything it says – you don’t want to miss out on any money due to inaction.
- Sign-on. Or at least inform the JobCentre you are unemployed. You don’t even have to get out of the house to do it, but instead call 0800 0556688 (details) and do it from home.
- Let friends and family know – you may need support now more than ever.
- Take a deep breath and relax – if you’ve been on the work treadmill for a long time now this is going to be more of a shock. Take it easy and try to relax for a while.