tric outlook and relationships suffer from our obsession with our present misfortune. We may become prickly because of the fear and anger we are experiencing. We may still harbor anger at being laid off and our bitterness seeps into the affectionate ties we have with others.

Despite the discomfort and dangers of your present situation, remember that a whole universe exists out the

When we are under stress, we start to experience wide swings in mood. In a new relationship, for example, we are ecstatic when the telephone rings, depressed and tearful when we don’t hear anything for two or three days. When we are ill, we are elated when tests come back negative, fearful and exhausted when a problem is identified. Working under a demanding tyrant, we are upbeat with any hint of praise and despondent when the inevitable criticism splashes in our faces.

The pervasiveness of being out of work touches so many parts of our lives: our finances, our family, our egos, and our inner sense of self. Because the anxiety of unemployment reaches to the core of our comfortable lifestyles, we suffer from a changing array of intense emotional ups and downs.

Some kind of emotional balance is necessary if we are to stay healthy, maintain our relationships, and be able to effectively function in job search. Reaching such a balance is difficult and made more so by our own inner turmoil. How do we re-establish that balance that will make us feel like our old selves, whole, optimistic, and complete?

Here are a couple of strategies to try.

1. Regain a broader perspective.

When we are confronted by a host of problems, we tend to put on blinders and only see the obstacles that are staring us in the face. We lose touch with what else is happening in the greater world we inhabit. Our conversation narrows to the one subject that dogs us night and day – the need to find work. Friends become bored with our egocentric outlook and relationships suffer from our obsession with our present misfortune. We may become prickly because of the fear and anger we are experiencing. We may still harbor anger at being laid off and our bitterness seeps into the affectionate ties we have with others.

Despite the discomfort and dangers of your present situation, remember that a whole universe exists out ther

ny hint of praise and despondent when the inevitable criticism splashes in our faces.

The pervasiveness of being out of work touches so many parts of our lives: our finances, our family, our egos, and our inner sense of self. Because the anxiety of unemployment reaches to the core of our comfortable lifestyles, we suffer from a changing array of intense emotional ups and downs.

Some kind of emotional balance is necessary if we are to stay healthy, maintain our relationships, and be able to effectively function in job search. Reaching such a balance is difficult and made more so by our own inner turmoil. How do we re-establish that balance that will make us feel like our old selves, whole, optimistic, and complete?

Here are a couple of strategies to try.

1. Regain a broader perspective.

When we are confronted by a host of problems, we tend to put on blinders and only see the obstacles that are staring us in the face. We lose touch with what else is happening in the greater world we inhabit. Our conversation narrows to the one subject that dogs us night and day – the need to find work. Friends become bored with our egocentric outlook and relationships suffer from our obsession with our present misfortune. We may become prickly because of the fear and anger we are experiencing. We may still harbor anger at being laid off and our bitterness seeps into the affectionate ties we have with others.

Despite the discomfort and dangers of your present situation, remember that a whole universe exists out the

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Some kind of emotional balance is necessary if we are to stay healthy, maintain our relationships, and be able to effectively function in job search. Reaching such a balance is difficult and made more so by our own inner turmoil. How do we re-establish that balance that will make us feel like our old selves, whole, optimistic, and complete?

Here are a couple of strategies to try.

1. Regain a broader perspective.

When we are confronted by a host of problems, we tend to put on blinders and only see the obstacles that are staring us in the face. We lose touch with what else is happening in the greater world we inhabit. Our conversation narrows to the one subject that dogs us night and day – the need to find work. Friends become bored with our egocentric outlook and relationships suffer from our obsession with our present misfortune. We may become prickly because of the fear and anger we are experiencing. We may still harbor anger at being laid off and our bitterness seeps into the affectionate ties we have with others.

Despite the discomfort and dangers of your present situation, remember that a whole universe exists out the

ry.

1. Regain a broader perspective.

When we are confronted by a host of problems, we tend to put on blinders and only see the obstacles that are staring us in the face. We lose touch with what else is happening in the greater world we inhabit. Our conversation narrows to the one subject that dogs us night and day – the need to find work. Friends become bored with our egocentric outlook and relationships suffer from our obsession with our present misfortune. We may become prickly because of the fear and anger we are experiencing. We may still harbor anger at being laid off and our bitterness seeps into the affectionate ties we have with others.

Despite the discomfort and dangers of your present situation, remember that a whole universe exists out the

tric outlook and relationships suffer from our obsession with our present misfortune. We may become prickly because of the fear and anger we are experiencing. We may still harbor anger at being laid off and our bitterness seeps into the affectionate ties we have with others.

Despite the discomfort and dangers of your present situation, remember that a whole universe exists out there that is totally ignorant and indifferent to your fate. Try to live in both worlds. During the time you have scheduled for job search, make that your total focus. For the rest of the day, enlarge your view to see what else is happening around you.

Read the newspaper, watch the news, keep up with a changing world. Spend time finding out what is happening in your children’s lives and how the workday went for your spouse. Take a walk and visit with neighbors to talk about local events and community politics. Not only will you be more welcome when you are no longer totally consumed by your jobless state, but you will feel more like your old self, a cog in the real world rather than an isolated alien.

2. Develop your empathy.

We all need to learn, as the old adage says, to “walk a mile in another’s moccasins.” You are so anxious and fearful about the future that it is easy to dismiss the worries of others that seem petty in comparison. Remember that to someone who has just been diagnosed with a terminal disease, your layoff may seem trivial. The significance of our problems is always relative. Because they are so close to us, and dominate our minds, we tend to feel that OUR problems are the biggest and that no one really understands the challenges we face.

To turn our backs on our own concerns, at least occasionally, and to reach out to understand and help others with their own difficulties, gives us some distance from the ballooning fears that threaten to overwhelm us. Distance confers objectivity and detachme