Unemployment Take Back Control!

As we work through anger, anger, depression and fear that are common mass of the unemployed, we can take some steps to regain our balance sheet, require a positive focus, and verify personal checks.

1. Daily routine.

We no longer have the structural work to shape our day and make sense in our spare time. In a very short time, we begin to operate. Our days are so much the same as we no longer remember what day of the week it is. The boundary between work and relaxation blurs. We do not work hard enough at our job, so we feel guilt, which destroys our play time. Nothing to be done immediately so we put it all tomorrow. Take control back to design and maintain your own schedule. Get up at the same time every morning, shower and get dressed as if you want to work. Map out your job search activities and stick to the plan. Build in relaxation times and stick to them too. With a regular routine and a defined purpose (finding work) helps you to continue to think of yourself as a worker and a valuable, productive individual, both critical in avoiding the descent into social oblivion prolonged unemployment so often brings.

2. Physical Form.

We eat when we are worried. We eat when we are depressed. We eat when we are worried. Couple these psychological urges to eat that we no longer meet fellow eyes every day, have nothing to dress up and have seriously weakened the self-respect, and our weight balloons out of control. Fight back by returning to a regimen of regular, healthy eating. So much of our lives are out of our control right now that it is a relief to find an area where we are in sole command. Cherish this opportunity by eating sparingly, reducing the amount of time in the kitchen, finding non-edible outlets for stress relief. At the same time, start a limited but regular exercise routine. It may not be something you enjoy, but eventually you have time to do it and all that huffing and puffing is a wonderful way to temporarily banish your worries.

3. Personal relationships.

You do not really feel like socializing. You're so tense and on edge that you take it out on those closest to you: your family. Make an effort to compartmentalize your life between your career and strains of your family and friends. If you allow the frustrations of the one to rub off on others, you are poisoning your best source for necessary support, and towards the personal disaster-estrangement, divorce, violence - that too often accompanies extended unemployment and wide-ranging destructiveness it spawns .

4. Job Search.

We have no control over when we receive a call for interview or getting the job offer we want so much. What we can control is how we spend our valuable energy. Submitting resumes for openings advertised in classifieds or on line should be a very small part of our job. For each item listed, the hundreds of resumes submitted. Do the math and it is revealed as similar to buying a lottery ticket - easy and fun to do, but will hardly change your future. Use your time more wisely by networking with everyone you know (and all they know) and called on employers in your industry to identify openings that have not yet been published. Your sense of control arises out of being proactive: putting yourself in the public eye, refusing to passively sit by the phone awaiting the call which never comes. You may be exhausted at the end of the day, and frustrated if the negative reactions held hint of possibility, but you have the self satisfaction knowing that you take your destiny into your own hands and will no longer be referred to the ranks of those who simply "watch and wait."

5. Community activities.

You may be relatively inactive in local events or deeply engaged in your community. In both cases is now time to intensify your level of activity. Since you can only productive job search for a limited number of hours per week, you need the extra time to get connected. Volunteer for local charities, schools, union halls, hospitals, all municipal events you can find. You control where you invest you time and effort and be productive, even in a small way can help repair your shattered self-esteem. Interact with other volunteers is also an unprecedented opportunity for networking and may indirectly lead to a golden opportunity you are looking for.

A world of unemployment, especially if prolonged, can be emotionally debilitating. By repeating control over some aspects of our lives, we can include damage to our psyche and face the future proudly, recognizing that job loss is a regrettable fact, not a personal failure.