Dr. Stanley Goldstein - Author and Psychologist

Having long been a compulsive worker, my periods of unemployment were a major stress, despite they being deliberate since I quit each job. As I've often remarked, I may not have been too smart in several of the jobs I took but knew exactly when to leave. Which is when your boss wants you to stay. Every manager has a life expectancy, changing in image from the organization's savior to, after needed, painful changes were made, its current problem. But to return to the topic of this essay.

Unemployment creates major stresses. Usually financial, unless the person (family) has good resources. Also the partial loss of identity since, in America, one's identity is often gained from their job. The commonest question upon meeting a stranger at a party is, "What do you do?" But there is an unconscious element too since a job provides sustenance which is similar to what a child requires as they slowly achieve the capacity for independent living. Thus unemployment unconsciously thrusts one back into that early perilous period of existence, and how it would be had one lacked parents for aid. To quote a well-functioning young adult with a six-figure job who had several everyday chores to attend, "I wish I still had parents to do them for me."

But your mind also contains the mechanism for coping with stress by using its natural obsessive-compulsive ego defense, an obsession being a recurring thought and a compulsion being a recurring act. In other words, by involving oneself in an activity, such as looking for a job, cleaning a room or whatever, anxiety naturally lessens though, of course, worry still persists. So, get busy!

A recent psychology listserv posting, referring to the layoff of federal workers, called it an "existential crisis." With which I must disagree! An existential crisis is a medical emergency or war situation and not unemployment though losing one's job is a major stress and one that all must learn to cope with. That unemployment can feel existential is another matter and that it can arouse depression and even physical symptoms is certain. But maturation means being able to consider matters in perspective. A job may feel like a supportive family that will provide sustenance for life but it is not.

I've had periods of unemployment and was once laid off from a government job with the union delegate stating that he'd never seen a government layoff before. But the county had financial problem, I was considered highly paid and so re-hired part-time.

All my periods of unemployment led to better results, as hopefully will happen with these laid-off workers. I've had patients who came to this country unable to speak English, learned it and more to earn more than many. I believe in the resilience of people, both youth and adults, which is a notion that seems to have become unpopular today. Nuff said.