How do you deal with the stress and anxiety of being long term unemployed.

First topic message reminder :

I think we can all agree that being long term unemployed takes its toll on individuals as well as families. How do you deal with all the effects of being long term unemployed?

I beleive this topic could be useful for those who are struggling to deal with the day to day.

Please offer your coping mechanisms and any advice you may have for those who are struggling to hang on.

exhaustedandtired/1208 wrote:How the hell can you deal with anything related to being unemployed and in desperate need of the 14 weeks and all they do is play politics and one has to be an bad person to think they give a crap about us. Boehner is holding fast and saying that for every amount of debt ceiling they raise he wants trillions in spending cuts! So who the hell is going to feel it. Those who need it the most! Someone is going to have to get a message across to the repubs. you absolutely cannot keep hurting the unemployed and SS and medicare and needy and ignore the rich. They are worse than Libya's leader. They do not have to shoot us, hell just cut everything we are Dependant on and we are history! We need to vote and take away their power and arrogance. The dems. and Obama have become wimps too.. Stand up for nothing! Guess I just showed how I deal with the stress Hum???

Let me guess. You deal with your anxiety and stress by venting.

Nuff said?

exhaustedandtired/1208 wrote:
Nuff said?

No, actually, I would like to add the following:

Im not dealing with it very well today, IM FRUSTRATED to put it mildly.

wow! Just when I think I have it bad!!!

exhaustedandtired/1208 wrote:wow! Just when I think I have it bad!!!

Sorry, the game is over. That is the way I am dealing with this right now. Jobs are very scarce, I am beyond broke and really don't know what I am going to do at this point. Retirement is 10 years away, I am not disabled, nor will I pretend to be. I can't think past today, the future is too scary and uncertain. I have no motivation to even leave the to walk across the street to get my mail. I have been in this fight for a year and a half - beginning with 3548 in the Fall of 2009. Today, I feel totally broken and defeated.

Ok, Desp just breath. You know you are one tough cookie, who would want to be the administrator of a board set up to discuss basically depressing stuff. Come on, who? People who are considered tough and motivated, that's you. Tomorrow will be better. Although, some days just seem like the last one unless the weather has changed. Ha! There will come a day when we will all look back and say "I sure the hell don't want to go through that again".

I'm sorry disgustedwithgovt, but I have to say this: I'm getting tired of hearing that "tomorrow will be better". The past two - plus years have been some of the bleakest, blackest, and worst times of my life. I have applied for countless jobs via resumes sent as well as applying in person. I have had maybe six interviews - two of which I traveled out of state for - and nothing to show for it.

As of today (after losing my job/life in San Francisco), I am living with my elderly mother in a house that she can barely afford. We have no relationship, whatsoever, which makes living here VERY tense, uncomfortable, and downright painful. I do not have a car, which makes searching for work in rural Florida a nightmare. I have no friends at all here, and my family is a dysfunctial mess. My savings has been completely wiped out and I closed the account. My checking account contains a balance of $21.47, and I have no interviews scheduled as of this moment. I have no health insurance, and some fillings are begining to crumble. I qualify for, and recieve, $200 a month in food stamps, and no other assistance besides that. Some days, I just want to die already, and today, I stayed in bed all day because I just couldn't face getting up...except to walk my dog.

I am having a VERY hard time finding a reason to push on at this point, and, at 41 - with no future in sight - I want to give up.

So when the hell is this better tomorrow coming?

Girl, you are correct I apologize for using that phase in what appeared to make it sound trival. I was merely applying it to Desp getting up tomorow to log in and keep doing the good work she is doing by posting and keeping us informed. I cannot tell you enough how sad your story is, and how absolutely real the pain is for you. Nor, do I know when it will change for you. But, I will be keeping you in my thoughts. Sincerely, Disgusted.

disgustedwithgovt wrote:Girl, you are correct I apologize for using that phase in what appeared to make it sound trival. I was merely applying it to Desp getting up tomorow to log in and keep doing the good work she is doing by posting and keeping us informed. I cannot tell you enough how sad your story is, and how absolutely real the pain is for you. Nor, do I know when it will change for you. But, I will be keeping you in my thoughts. Sincerely, Disgusted.

You are a very thoughtful person. One "good" thing I have found in this journey through hell is the kindness and support of so many who are in the same position. Friendships have been made that will last forever. You are right, things will get better.

We all need to keep our heads up and keep up the fight, if we don't do it nobody will do it for us. I have also lost everything the 2000 sq ft house on ten acres, all my savings and my wife of 15 years its all gone. I get the $200 a month in food stamps and I have a friend who just got a job after 3 years of being out of work that uses my truck and pays the insurance and keep the tank full. I've been living in a 18ft 40yo trailer I got off craigslist for $450 for almost a year and a half now. There is one thing I haven't lost and that is myself no one can take that from me, and I refuse to let this situation I’m in beat me. As long as I’m alive there is hope so tomorrow when I get up I'm going to do the same thing I've done for the last 917 days take a long walk and then get on the laptop and look for work. Then start the emails, calls and faxes trying to get support for HR589 and defeating HR1745. I know how f'd this is and I do break down from time to time with tears in my eyes and ask myself “whats the point of trying? Is it ever going to get better?” and I think of a line from Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone “When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose”. And it makes me feel a little better, gone is the stress about the house, money and the ex. I have nothing and nothing left to lose but myself and I’ll be damned if they will take that from me to, one thing that helps me get up in the morning and continue to fight is my anger toward our greedy/evil/corrupt government. So like I said keep your head up, keep up the fight and never give up. Blessed Be Always.

Also it never hurts to pray. Sorry about your lose but I always tell myself that there got to be a purpose for stuff we are going thru, because I'm afraid it will get worst before it will get better.

I am new to this forum, I chose the Prayer one because that is what has been my constant source of coping. I have in the past been suicidal, and have been blessed to have my spiritual life, that has pulled me out of my funk, and moved me forward in order to start yet another day of job hunting. I was in shock when I found I could not secure jobs such as my local McDonald's, or Walmart. I was told that there thousands of individuals applying for the same job, therefore you stand more of a chance of simply not being seen based on the length of time you've been unemployed. I found that there has been a constant battle from within to maintain positiveness, but I manage because literally by the grace of God have a roof over my head and food to eat, along with many people who love me dearly. If I can offer a means of encouragement to anyone through prayer, I would be happy to pray for you, and in return I ask for prayer as well. May Peace, Grace and Mercy continue to be with us all.

Welcome Dstennis and thanks for sharing.

I agree with you all. I pray, fight, keep busy and advocate, although lately just taking care of Dad, but I am back and would love so brainstorm with all the members to get loud, fight and let them all know we are still here, still looking for employment and still mad as hell.

But, prayers have gotten me through alot these past couple months and I thank all who are praying. I am still praying for all of you as well.

I'm eating better and more consciously than I ever have. I compose salads that are too beautiful to eat, although they remind me that the "conservative" world isn't the model the Creator had in mind at all. They are self-centered, arrogant, vicious, mean-spirited, hypocrites, thugs - everything deceitful and stinky - no matter where they live, what tongue they speak.

Other than searching for meaningless work, I've spent most of my time reading. It's amazing how long people that call themselves conservatives have been pulling their shenanigans - same old, same old tricksters which is why the death tax MUST expire - allowing the detritus to pass what they've stolen along from generation to generation only ensures the survival of their worn out ideas and prolongs the conflicts their class began long long ago. Their twisted economic power keeps the world at war, determines the quality of our lives, including the types of jobs we'll have or not, how we'll live, our air and water quality, etc. While we can make better choices, they severely limit what's available, because of the policies that their wealth promotes and supports. I'm so finished with the capitalist game that I'm seriously thinking of voting for Romney so that he can finish it all off. Then bring out the guillotines and work towards a world that includes all of God's creation - not just castles for the meanest 1% and ghettos for the working class which I'm beginning to believe is their goal. This slow cooking sucks - the sooner the capitalist model is relinquished to the bin of failure the better. I'm just not sure the planet can wait.

sraney wrote:I'm eating better and more consciously than I ever have. I compose salads that are too beautiful to eat, although they remind me that the "conservative" world isn't the model the Creator had in mind at all. They are self-centered, arrogant, vicious, mean-spirited, hypocrites, thugs - everything deceitful and stinky - no matter where they live, what tongue they speak.

Other than searching for meaningless work, I've spent most of my time reading. It's amazing how long people that call themselves conservatives have been pulling their shenanigans - same old, same old tricksters which is why the death tax MUST expire - allowing the detritus to pass what they've stolen along from generation to generation only ensures the survival of their worn out ideas and prolongs the conflicts their class began long long ago. Their twisted economic power keeps the world at war, determines the quality of our lives, including the types of jobs we'll have or not, how we'll live, our air and water quality, etc. While we can make better choices, they severely limit what's available, because of the policies that their wealth promotes and supports. I'm so finished with the capitalist game that I'm seriously thinking of voting for Romney so that he can finish it all off. Then bring out the guillotines and work towards a world that includes all of God's creation - not just castles for the meanest 1% and ghettos for the working class which I'm beginning to believe is their goal. This slow cooking sucks - the sooner the capitalist model is relinquished to the bin of failure the better. I'm just not sure the planet can wait.

Hi sraney,

Thanks for your input. Your first sentence is a great suggestion as to keeping healthy, but after that you seem pretty stressed out and angry at the world. Hang in there, friend!

Jeff