Getting Laid Off: The PTSD No One Talks About

Being an adult comes with plenty of perks. You get to be more independent, live life on your terms, work at a job to cover your expenses, and occasionally indulge in things you do not need but simply want. Along with these adulting “perks” comes a less talked about reality. The possibility of being laid off.

Nearly 40% of adults report being laid off at least once during their working lives (source). If you have managed to avoid this not so rare phenomenon up until this point, congratulations! I totally envy you.

As someone who has went through a blindsided layoff on two separate occasions, I can say the experience is a mix of emotions. The blend can be best described as shocking, upsetting, and humbling all at once. Of course the feeling varies from person to person, but the feeling that often gets overlooked is traumatizing.

Just envision it now. You have a source of income that enables you to keep the lights on, feed yourself and your family, and keep a roof over your head. Then, all of a sudden, it gets pulled right from under you. And the worst part is, there is nothing you can do about it. Sure, being laid off is usually not personal, but it doesn’t lessen the blow when your livelihood is on the line.

The loss of jobs in this current climate has become increasingly common. In fact, it has become so widespread that if you open any social media platform, you will find countless posts from others going through the exact same experience. It’s a striking reminder of how many of us are facing similar challenges in our lives. While this shared experience affects many, its lasting emotional impact often goes overlooked. Losing a job can leave a mark that doesn’t fade as quickly as the next TikTok trend.

This is where post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) comes in. Most of the time, PTSD is associated with intensely traumatic experiences and is not typically linked to losing a job. But the reality is that job loss can trigger a strong emotional and physical reaction for anyone. Let’s explore the often-overlooked PTSD that can emerge from losing a job and key things to keep in mind when facing this challenge.

Everything Feels Like a Threat to Your Job

So, you get laid off, and then finally after months of painfully searching for your next job you land something. Great, right? Yes and no. There’s so much relief that comes from having steady income again. But sometimes, month five rolls around while working at the job you’ve finally landed, and you begin overthinking everything. Why?

Because you can’t help but shake the feeling that you could potentially lose this job too.

There are moments when you may become hypervigilant, examining your superior’s moves, moods, and tones. You might feel like you’re not doing enough because of constructive feedback that doesn’t reflect your work ethic, or constantly feel on edge as you become aware that you’re just a number. This can trigger random spells of panic and make you question your self-worth.

Once you’ve been laid off, the fear that it could happen again never fully disappears. It may stay dormant for a while, only to resurface unexpectedly with memories of the event, like the sound of your ex-boss’s voice saying, “I’m sorry to have to do this,” replaying in your head.

You will of course do everything in your power to move on, but the experience that occurred may now become a memory you just can’t escape.

Use the Power of Now

A lot of the negative emotions that linger from losing a job stems from mentally putting yourself back in the space you were in when the loss occurred.  I experienced this strongly during the COVID shutdown.

Due to restrictions that were out of my control, I had to sit still and face a lot of the things that I often evaded by constantly being on the move. This caused an array of thoughts to profusely cloud my mind. Upon doing some research and receiving some much-needed advice from my therapist at the time, I found my way to a book called The Power of Now written by Eckhart Tolle. This book created an immense shift in my way of thinking.

Although the book touches on a number of things, one of the core pieces is to focus on the now and not the past. In short, be present. Moving on to something greater and better can hinder our progress if we are stuck on our past. The bad things you experience are not you, they are a part of your journey. Now that you’re in a new chapter focus on the words that are written on the current page so you can grasp its messaging.

The Reevaluation Phase

In one of my roles, I envisioned being with the company for a while. This was because I was deeply invested in what the company stood for, had multiple discussions with the owner about how they saw my role growing with the company, and earned an income I was fairly satisfied with.

When I got laid off, the vision I had shattered into a million pieces, and I had no idea where to begin rebuilding the image I had admired and longed for for so long.

Nothing really made sense to me. I had assumed I was on the right path, only to realize I had been going in the wrong direction for so long.

Losing a job does that to you. You begin to question a lot. You start to wonder what you should be doing now that you no longer have a title to your name. You may even question whether all the work you did was in vain and doubt your own value. Sometimes, it can feel like you’re in the twilight zone, with no idea how you got to where you are.

This is a phase I had to learn to embrace. When life forces you to take a detour, it is because there is a lesson to be learned and a new route to follow. Sometimes, this serves as a reason to reevaluate everything or to create something new. The image I once had that was destroyed didn’t need to be recreated. Instead, I now had the opportunity to create an even better image, equipped with the resources I had learned along the way.

The Feels Are Normal

We all know that getting laid off is a 0/10 experience, but it happens to the best of us (I’m a perfect example). At the end of the day, it often comes down to numbers. Every business has one objective in mind. I couldn’t care less about the inspirational mission, vision, and values listed on their website, or their well-written “people first” motto featured throughout their marketing.

At the end of the day, the core objective is to make money, dinero, moola, stacks. Money talks, and if the numbers don’t make cents (pun completely intended), changes are made until the digits add up.

The truth is, it’s just business. I know this may not lessen the blow when your money-maker is taken away, but it’s the reality. What’s also true is that the emotions you feel when you’re told you are no longer wanted at a company are completely normal.

Every tear shed, every expletive yelled, and every bit of grief experienced is a natural reaction. So allow yourself to feel it. Just feel the feels. Talk about it, be sad about it, and even cry if you need to. You’ve lost your job, and you are allowed to feel some way about it.

Remember Your Awesomeness

In the end, one of the most important things I had to remind myself and must now remind you is that your worth is not tied to the loss of a job.

There is an internal struggle when you are told you are no longer needed in a space. This can take a major hit on your self-esteem, but the reason you were considered worthy of hiring has not disappeared. It is still within you.

The beauty of the hardships we experience is that we always have the ability to persevere and move on from them.

A wise man once said on an album that went on to win numerous Grammys, “I deserve it all because it’s mine.” The same holds true for you. You still deserve it all because your greatness remains intact despite that traumatic experience.

Anecdotally,

Liv Sayz

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