If depression makes it difficult for you to manage the day-to-day tasks of life, we have supporting advice that will help you locate a job, interview for that job, and get the job.
It doesn't matter whether you've been diagnosed with depression before or if you suspect that you have the signs of depression but haven't sought treatment; if you've just lost your job, you may be entering a depressive episode.
It is easy to feel detached or even hopeless in today's extremely competitive job market. With Zoom interviews, countless online submissions, and the sensation of being more like an applicant number than a person behind a resume, it is easy to feel as though you are tossing carefully crafted cover letters to the wind.
Finding a job and keeping it is never simple, but if you also struggle with depression, these tasks may seem almost insurmountable. You have a number of options available to you for dealing with the situation.
Dealing with Joblessness While Struggling with Depression
It may be challenging to come to terms with the toll that looking for work can have on your vitality, optimism, and sense of self-worth.
You may be experiencing feelings of hopelessness, discover that even the simplest of activities need all of your energy, or find that you are unable to start searching for new employment.
If you currently treat your depression, you may be familiar with the specific signs and symptoms of your condition.
But if you're feeling depressed and it's been more than a few days or it's starting to have an impact on your day-to-day life, you may want to evaluate whether or not it's anything more than the normal highs and lows that come with being unemployed. Is it depression?
You're not alone
When you are unable to find work or are having trouble making ends meet, it is not unusual to suffer signs of depression.
In the years after the Great Recession (2007–2009), the unemployment rate in the United States was 9.6 percent, and some individuals there referred to this as a public health catastrophe.
a research done in 2015
According to a Reliable Source, at that time the high unemployment rate was considered a public health problem owing to the tight association between depression and unemployment in young people. This link was shown to be particularly strong in young adults.
In April 2020, when the COVID-19 epidemic first appeared, the employment rate was a staggering 14.7 percent. It is thus not unreasonable to be worried about the toll that the epidemic and unemployment rates are having on the mental health of each and every one of us.
coping strategies for those dealing with both joblessness and depression
Although it may seem as like it requires all of your effort to manage depression, there are numerous things that you may do to live with depression and unemployment simultaneously.
Take time for self-care
If you notice that you are worried and feeling anxious about your position on a regular basis, you should make an effort (as difficult as it seems) to stop what you are doing and take a break.
Whenever we are feeling down, we often deny ourselves the opportunity to relax and take pauses.
Depression is associated with symptoms such as irritability and difficulties focusing, all of which may make it difficult to relax and take a break when necessary.
The stress of looking for a job and the worry that comes with being unemployed and in a precarious financial situation may be detrimental to both your physical and mental health, despite the fact that stress can occasionally serve as a useful motivator. In point of fact, it has been shown that chronic stress is detrimental to the processes of the body over time.
The act of looking for work may, in and of itself, amount to a full-time job. Therefore, you should probably treat it like a full-time job, which means that you should set aside time to take care of yourself and engage in activities during your free time that you wouldn't have time for if you were working 40 hours a week.
You may, for instance, attempt to rid your thoughts of tension, even if only for a short period of time, by going for a stroll outdoors or watching your favorite program on television.
Taking a pause and centering oneself in the here and now may be beneficial, despite the fact that it can seem to be a little thing to do.
Work on your "selfies" – self-talk and self-esteem
It might be challenging to see your own value when you are struggling with a mental illness like depression. Nevertheless, you should keep in mind the qualities that set you apart from other applicants while you were looking for work.
You may redefine your own sense of self-esteem and self-worth by concentrating on the positive aspects of who you are.
Prepare yourself by role-playing how you would respond to the question "why are you the appropriate person for this position?" before going in for an interview. Your response should demonstrate that you are aware of the value you bring to the interview. And in the same vein, if you don't think you're qualified for the position, the interviewer may get the impression that you don't think you should have it.
Improve both your endorphins and your disposition.
You've probably heard a lot about endorphins, including how fantastic they can make you feel and the benefits of raising the amount of endorphins in your body.
One of the signs that you could be suffering from depression is a loss of interest in activities that you previously enjoyed. The moment has come for you to consider new interests if you have the impression that your present pastimes do not make you feel happy or give you the fulfillment you want in your hands and heart.
You may increase the amount of endorphins in your body and enhance your mood by engaging in activities that offer you pleasure, engaging in moderate physical activity, and even eating bold-flavored foods like dark chocolate and spicy meals in moderation.
Your house, your money, and your time all need to be reorganized.
If your house is disorganized, your finances are in disarray, and your daily plan is missing, you may have feelings of being overwhelmed, which may exacerbate the symptoms of depression. There are a lot of individuals that are impacted by their surroundings, and having chaos in your surroundings may also lead you to have chaos in your emotions.
Make an effort to take baby steps toward organizing the aspects of your life that you are capable of handling.
First, choose on a goal that is easily attainable, and after you've attained that one, go on to the next one. Before you realize it, those baby steps will have snowballed into a significant transformation.
Make contact with other people.
It's not hard to isolate oneself from your loved ones and close pals. During the early lockdowns of the epidemic, when we were advised to remain indoors and away from anybody we didn't live with, this was exceptionally simple to accomplish.
On the other hand, study from 2017
According to a Reliable Source, having a large number of positive social relationships may both be an indication of and a likely factor leading to greater overall mental health.
Consolidating your social ties is an effective strategy for warding off feelings of isolation and establishing your position within your existing network of friends and acquaintances. You may also want to think about joining online support groups, which can put you in touch with individuals who can relate to what you're going through.
When things go difficult, it's vital to keep in mind that there are people in your life who care about you and want to be there for you when things get challenging. If you were to offer them a brief text or call, there is a good chance that they would be thrilled to hear from you.
Seek assistance
It's possible that you believe it's simply a passing phase and that it'll go away if you get a job, and if your depression symptoms are situational, it's possible that they will.
You may, however, ask out for assistance and support if you feel as if your depression is beginning to take control of your life or if it is causing you to miss deadlines and obligations.
Seeing a primary care physician first might be helpful since they can do an assessment and exclude the possibility of any other potential medical problems. They will then be able to put you in contact with a mental health specialist so that you may undergo screening for any disorders and formulate a treatment strategy.
Having an up-to-date treatment plan may assist you in better managing your symptoms, as well as your mood and your capacity to operate on a day-to-day basis.
Some services could even be provided for no cost or at a very cheap cost:
community-based local initiatives for mental health
health clinics supported by the federal government
programs in psychology offered by regional institutions and universities
Get ready for your return.
There are a lot of individuals who can't wait till they can go back to working in an office again, but what if you aren't quite ready to take part in that celebration just yet?
There is no foolproof method for successfully transitioning back into the workforce, but marking your return date on the calendar can help you be ready for it when the time comes.
In the event that you believe that your anxiety could be triggered by the commute, you might try to give it some practice in the days leading up to your return, while you are making your way back to the workplace.