You didn’t expect to be here.

You worked hard. Climbed ladders. Hit your metrics. Managed chaos, kept your cool, made things
better for everyone else. Then, one day, your badge stopped working. Your Slack went silent. Maybe
you were called into an impromptu virtual meeting and told you were being let go. Please ship back
your equipment. Or worse, you saw the writing on the wall and had to walk away from something
that was slowly eroding your mental health.

Now, you’re floating in a limbo that’s more than inconvenient. It’s soul-rattling.
This isn’t just about finding a new job. It’s about submitting hundreds of applications into black-hole
applicant tracking systems.

It’s spending hours on case studies, only to get ghosted. It’s sitting through five rounds of
interviews, only to hear, “We’ve decided to move forward with an internal candidate.” It’s being told
you’re too experienced, or not experienced enough. Overqualified, underqualified, too young, too
old, too quiet, too direct. Pick your poison. It’s watching your savings shrink, your LinkedIn “Open to
Work” badge get stale, and your confidence start to rot.
And through it all, you’re supposed to smile. Stay professional. “Keep networking.”

Let’s just say it: This is traumatic.

The Gaslighting Loop

The job market loves to sell “resilience,” but rarely acknowledges the mental toll of prolonged
unemployment. You’re told to “stay positive” and asked, “Have you tried networking more?” It
insists, “It’s not personal.”

But it is personal when your identity has been wrapped around your work for years. It’s personal
when your inbox stays quiet after you’ve poured your heart into a cover letter. It’s personal when
people say, “You’re so talented, someone will scoop you up soon!” and months go by.

This isn’t just disappointment. It’s rejection fatigue. It’s hope whiplash. It’s watching your self-worth
erode as you try to survive in a system that feels rigged, inconsistent, and increasingly cruel.

Let’s Name What’s Really Happening

What you’re experiencing is more than financial stress. It’s grief for the role, the routine, the
relationships, the version of yourself you once believed in. It’s shame, even though you know it
wasn’t your fault. It still feels like failure. It’s fear. Will I ever work again? Am I aging out of relevance? Was that my last shot?

And it’s anger at broken hiring systems, vague feedback, unpaid test projects, corporate reshuffles,
and the endless “We’re going in a different direction.”
All of this is happening without structure, without income, and often without anyone who truly gets
it.

If This Is You, You’re Not Alone

There’s a quiet chorus of professionals going through this right now. Brilliant, capable, seasoned
people wondering what the heck happened.
You are not lazy. You are not broken. And no, you don’t need to “just manifest” your next role.

You’re experiencing a deeply destabilizing event. If it’s bringing up old wounds, feelings of
unworthiness, hyper-independence, fear of being a burden, that’s not a coincidence. Job loss has a
way of kicking up everything we’ve buried.

Healing (Even While You’re Still in It)

You don’t have to wait until you land your next job to start feeling like yourself again.

As an EMDR therapist, I work with professionals navigating the emotional and identity-shaking
aftermath of job loss. Together, we process the grief, the burnout, the shame, and often, the early
life experiences that taught you your worth was tied to your output.

But for now, just know this: It’s not just you. You’re not too much. Or not enough. You’re a human
being, caught in a system that often treats people like numbers. You still matter, even when no one’s
calling you back.

Unemployment is a chapter, not the whole story. This season will pass. The right company will
recognize your value, and when they do, they’ll be the ones who are truly fortunate to have you on
their team. Your skills, your experience, and your resilience are still very real, even if they aren’t
being recognized right now.

If you’re stuck in the ache of unemployment and want space to process all of it, not just the resume
line, I’m here to help. I specialize in helping high-performing professionals heal from the invisible wounds that surface during career collapse.

Ready to begin your healing journey?

Contact me today to learn how an EMDR Intensive can support you through this challenging time of
transition.