Losing your job is never easy. At a minimum, it disrupts your financial life, creating what can be a major source of stress. Plus, it adds a level of uncertainty to your day-to-day, may even leave your questioning your worth as a professional or personal, and could leave you reeling, wondering if you could have done something different to prevent the job loss.
Regardless of why you lost your job, looking after your mental health is a must. Otherwise, the emotional distress that often comes with the situation can quickly become overwhelming.
If you are wondering how you can maintain your mental health after losing your job, here are three approaches that can help.
1. Create a Wellness-Centered Routine
Losing your job disturbs your daily routine significantly. This disruption can be incredibly harmful, leading to the development of poor habits that negatively impact your physical, mental, and emotional health.
Luckily, you can avoid much of this by creating a new wellness-centered routine. Make sure you get enough sleep and follow a sleeping/waking schedule that mimics what you had while working. Keep up with your regular meal times, choosing nutritious options that support your body. Integrate exercise into your day, either as a formal workout or by completely various home activities. Add job search activities to your schedule, too, ensuring you give it enough time and attention.
By creating a new wellness-centered routine, you add a sense of normalcy and predictability to your day. This can help you stay grounded while also ensuring you take proper care of yourself along the way.
2. Get Control Over the Right Things
At times, getting control over the right aspects of your life can be beneficial. It can give you a sense of stability even when there’s uncertainty about your income or career, alleviating a degree of stress from the equation.
For example, while you can’t control the loss of income, you can reassess your budget to find savings and reduce financial stress. Similarly, you can’t control the fact that you no longer have that position, but you can take charge of your job search.
Identify areas of your life where you can take control and produce beneficial change. Then, make those a focus, giving you a stronger sense of stability while you regain your footing.
3. Adopt a Future-Focused Mindset
When you lose your job, it’s easy to get caught up in the negative emotions that come with that. While taking some time to acknowledge and process how your feeling is fine, dwelling tends to be harmful. Instead, you want to adopt a future-focused mindset, allowing you to shift your concentration toward what can be instead of what isn’t.
Now may be the perfect time to take a look at your career and send it in a new direction. Consider what next step aligns with your goals and current capabilities, then pursue positions that align with that.
Alternatively, if you need additional skills to move up, you may want to explore classes or other learning opportunities that can help you acquire them. This could be a great option, particularly since you may have more time to focus on education now than you have before.
Ultimately, focusing on the future can create a sense of optimism, making it easier to navigate the challenges that arise after a job search. Couple that with the other tips above, and you can maintain your mental health more effectively.
If you’d like to learn more, the team at GSG Talent Solutions can help. Contact us today.