{"id":17921,"date":"2020-11-13T20:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-14T00:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=17921"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:59:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:59:58","slug":"unemployment-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/unemployment-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"Unemployment Stress Is Normal: How to Cope"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is unemployment stress? How can you cope with the mental health challenges of a job search?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it is hard to find a job, you probably feel more stressed the longer it takes to get hired. This unemployment stress is a normal emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading for some tips on managing depression and coping with unemployment stress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of\u00a0Shortform\u2019s guide to stress<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unemployment Stress and Depression<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the job-hunting process, it\u2019s important to take care of yourself. It\u2019s normal to feel depressed or discouraged when you\u2019re unemployed and it’s hard to find a job<\/strong>\u2014one study found that the longer you\u2019re unemployed, the more intense these feelings become. Additionally, the job search stress itself can intensify your negative feelings and unemployment stress\u2060\u2014job hunting is a lot of mental work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are eleven ways to improve your mental health and reduce unemployment stress while you\u2019re unemployed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Sleep.<\/strong> When you don\u2019t get enough sleep, you feel sad. Sometimes it\u2019s hard to tell if you\u2019re sad because you don\u2019t have a job or sad because you\u2019re tired. If you\u2019re feeling sad, try sleeping, and even if there\u2019s some greater underlying reason for your unhappiness, you\u2019ll probably feel at least a bit better.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Maintain our physical health. <\/strong>Drink water, exercise, and eat properly (including vitamins).<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Improve our surroundings.<\/strong> A messy space can contribute to our feelings of sadness. So, clean up your home and put things in their place.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Go outside.<\/strong> Seeing nature will make you feel better.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Think about others<\/a>.<\/strong> There are always people in the world who are in a worse place than you are. Volunteer at an organization that helps people, such as a food bank or hospital.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Reconnect with your friends.<\/strong> Your friends will be important to your job hunt, but more importantly, social interaction contributes to your happiness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Go on staycations.<\/strong> This encourages you to think about the opportunities you have, not focus on the ones you\u2019ve lost.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Learn a new skill.<\/strong> Read a book, watch or video, or take a class in something you\u2019ve always wanted to learn. If you don\u2019t have any ideas, learn about ideas themselves\u2060\u2014learn about the mind.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Unload your feelings.<\/strong> Feelings are harder to manage internally. As soon as you say them aloud, they lose power. Just make sure that whomever you talk to about your feelings is discreet.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Hit something.<\/strong> Punching a pillow or a punching bag is a good way to get rid of anger. Also, anger often contributes to sadness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  11. Be grateful.<\/strong> Every day, make a list of what you\u2019re grateful for. When we\u2019re unemployed, we tend to focus on the negatives. Instead, focus on positives\u2060\u2014you may not have a job right now, but you have plenty of other important things. This will help with the job search stress.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    What is unemployment stress? How can you cope with the mental health challenges of a job search? If it is hard to find a job, you probably feel more stressed the longer it takes to get hired. This unemployment stress is a normal emotion. Keep reading for some tips on managing depression and coping with unemployment stress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,9,30],"tags":[150],"class_list":["post-17921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-psychology","category-work","tag-what-color-is-your-parachute","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nUnemployment Stress Is Normal: How to Cope - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you're looking for a job, you might be feeling stressed. That's normal. 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