How are you doing mentally those who are laid off?

[les26]

I have been laid off for over a month now which I knew was coming, and have been keeping very busy doing many things around the house that I didn't really have time to do before or never took the time, like cleaning out the upstairs of the garage, building an above ground garden, I have enough firewood for the next 4 years lol etc., but I have good days and bad days "mentally". Of course I will be called back if we get up and running again but it will take some time for me because I do shipping for a jewelry company that has stores all over the place so I have to wait until they are all open again which I think will take many months yet, so I could be off the majority of the Summer but time will tell. But it creeps into my mind, wondering if I'll have a job to go back to and other thoughts which of course are normal but I just tell myself not to worry and try to put them in the back of my mind and keep busy. On good days my attitude is "I paid into the program all these years, I'm getting paid unemployment and these extra monies, if they call me back I go, if the money stops and they don't call me back I'll do something else" and go on. On not so good days it occupies more of my mind and time thinking about it, not overly worried but the mind can make things seem scary and it is the uncertainty of it all that is what has us nuts right now, one minute it seems like we are turning a corner and things are looking up and 10 minutes later it is back to all doom and gloom and death again so who knows?!

How are you all doing, those on lay off?

 

[Kieka]

I am not laid off so I can't comment on right now but.... I was laid off during the recession in 2008 and was out of work for 6 months. So I can definitely relate to what people are going through right now.

I found on those bad days doing some self care tasks really helped. Taking a long bath and doing deep breathing exercises to mellow. Doing a yoga video (there are now a ton of them on YouTube). Taking an ambling walk around the neighborhood (spiral out so you stay close enough to cut back home if desired). Cleaning has never been a mellowing task for me so that wasn't big but I did reorganize my room during that time.

 

[les26]

I am not laid off so I can't comment on right now but.... I was laid off during the recession in 2008 and was out of work for 6 months. So I can definitely relate to what people are going through right now.

I found on those bad days doing some self care tasks really helped. Taking a long bath and doing deep breathing exercises to mellow. Doing a yoga video (there are now a ton of them on YouTube). Taking an ambling walk around the neighborhood (spiral out so you stay close enough to cut back home if desired). Cleaning has never been a mellowing task for me so that wasn't big but I did reorganize my room during that time.

Yesterday after doing a lot of physical work I did take a long walk in a nature setting , it does help you keep your head!

Thanks for the reply, and not to take anything away from what you went through in 2008 but this here is a double bad thing, not only people being laid off but also having to worry "am I going to catch this virus?" which adds even more stress!

 

[Jem]

I'm actually doing pretty well mentally (for the most part). I've been basically living on auto pilot for the past while and was in a serious burn out situation. But, I just kept going, because I had to. This pandemic came at a perfect time in my life because I'm getting the rest I need and the financial support due to being laid off. It's stressful in other ways, but overall this "break" has been a little blessing.
I'm not rolling in the money, but between my savings and EI we have what we need. My husbands small business I think will recover quickly enough so although that is scary, we are trying to stay positive.
I know I have a job to go back to (physical/massage therapy) as I have an established clientele and we have a shortage of therapists in my area so we always have people looking for appointments. What is slightly concerning is how comfortable people will be to seek such close contact treatment. I know I'll have my "base" clients that will come in the second we say we are open regardless of any new policies we put in place, but it will be interesting how my profession will have to accommodate to keep the public (and ourselves) safe and if there will be any push back from our clients or the profession. I'm not in a high hit area for infections so I think people will seek treatment soon enough after we open....hopefully anyway Because my pay is a strict commission....I need the clients to make the money.

 

[MonaLyssa33]

I'm not technically laid off, but I'm no longer getting paid through my job so I can keep the little amount of PTO I have for when we go back. I still have my health insurance through my job, but I'm on unemployment until we get recalled.

Mentally, I've been okay. I still have therapy sessions every other week, so that has helped. I'm mostly worried about going back to work before it is actually safe. I've been holed up in my house for so long that I feel like I'll be too anxious to leave the house, which has happened before (about 8 years ago when I was also severely depressed). I'm hoping that my boss will be lenient for those who have mental struggles though and will allow for a slower transition back to the job.

I'm not too worried about finances though for the first time in a really long time too. I actually get more money on unemployment that I did while working because there is an additional $600 a week just for Covid stuff and that alone is more than what I was making after taxes.