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This week’s guest is the kind, wise (and hilarious) Patrick Hill from Thinking Beyond Now. He coaches people to live fully in and through the harder times of life like divorce, bereavement, health crises and redundancy.

With so many households having lost at least one person’s income during the pandemic, advice on coping emotionally with the experience of job-loss is much needed. What’s more, since unhealthy coping mechanisms are often expensive both short and long term, this advice can help with your financial situation too.

Patrick says:

Create a routine - don’t just sleep in and do nothing;
Look after your physical health - exercise, stay hydrated, eat wholesome foods etc;
Take care you’re not numbing your feelings with alcohol, drugs, sex, shopping, gambling, binge-watching TV, over- or under-eating, playing too many hours of video games etc;
Avoid the blame game - focus on what comes next;
Pay attention to your media intake - avoid too much depressing or frightening news;
Pay attention to whose company you keep and try to be around supportive people as much as possible;
Remember colleagues are only work colleagues, don’t be shocked if they don’t treat you like a friend once you leave;
Stay social and connected to your friends and family - don’t withdraw, even if you feel like it;
Consider volunteering - find ways you can give back to others;
Reframe your job loss as an opportunity to do something new;
Find what positives you can - was there a terrible internal system or a horrible colleague at your old employer that you never have to deal with again?
Find humour where you can;
Disentangle your identity from your work - realise you are much more than your job;
Remember everything changes - nothing is permanent including money and jobs;
If you’re feeling ashamed or sad about the loss of status that comes from losing your job remember this: status is not about you, it’s about other people’s perceptions of you and that is not in your control;
Remember we are born and die equal, in the bits in-between the most important question is not what you job was or how much you earned, it’s how well did you live?
Feel your real feelings. Remember no feeling is “bad”, they may be uncomfortable, but they’re not wrong;
Find someone you can talk about your feelings with, whether that’s a close friend or family member or a professional such as a therapist or coach, or even a helpline like the Samaritans;
Take action of some kind every day and take note of your achievements;
Keep your home clean and tidy as best you can, even if that’s just making your bed.