The emotional and physiological toll of job loss is real — and so is your ability to care for yourself through it.
Layoffs aren’t slowing down. Every week brings news of companies cutting jobs by the hundreds, if not thousands. Millions of Americans are enduring the aftermath.
I’ve experienced it from nearly every angle — being laid off, surviving rounds of restructuring, having freelance contracts end. None of it was easy. There’s a particular kind of disorientation that comes with watching your life shift overnight, made worse by a volatile job market and living expenses that keep climbing. The growing pressure of anxiety not only fills your head, it settles into your body.
Being unemployed and figuring out your next move can feel like an unpaid full-time job you can’t mentally clock out from. But it should never come at the expense of your health.
This is a look at the toll job loss can have on you, and how to care for yourself — especially your sleep — during a season of uncertainty.
Read more: 12 Grounding Techniques to Calm Your Mind
What job loss does to your body
Layoff anxiety can elevate cortisol, the hormone that helps you respond to a threat. In short bursts, that’s useful—it’s what gets you through hard conversations, the scramble to update your resume, and the first few days of figuring out what’s next.
But when cortisol stays elevated for weeks or months, your brain gets stuck in survival mode. You stay in a low-grade fight-or-flight, and over time that can show up as high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, and depression.
It’s also common to sleep poorly when you’re stressed out, and for some people, it leads to the sleep disorder insomnia. Insomnia can develop through a handful of compounding habits, such as an irregular schedule, extended time awake in bed, persistent worry about sleep, and trying harder to force sleep, according to Dr. Daniella Marchetti, a Clinical Psychologist and Board Certified Behavioral Sleep Medicine Specialist.
How to sleep better when you’re anxious
When anxiety is high, winding down can feel impossible. Lying awake, it’s tempting to try to solve everything since you’re up anyway. But Marchetti says that’s exactly the wrong moment to problem-solve.
“The prefrontal cortex — the part of the brain responsible for logical reasoning, planning, and perspective-taking — is less active, while emotional centers like the amygdala become relatively more reactive,” she explains. “As a result, concerns about finances, job searches, or the future tend to feel far more urgent and catastrophic than they often do in the morning.”
In other words, 2am you and 9am you are not thinking with the same brain, and 2am you is not the one who should be making decisions about your future.
So what do you do with a mind that won’t stop spinning? Marchetti recommends keeping a running “problem list” and addressing them during a scheduled daytime “worry time” when your brain is actually equipped to think clearly. If racing thoughts still pop up at night, don’t pay them much attention.
“The goal isn’t to have an empty mind, but rather to stop treating every nighttime thought like an emergency,” Marchetti says.
One exercise she recommends often is called Leaves on a Stream where you imagine each thought settling on a leaf and drifting down a stream. With this method, you’re not ruminating, and you’re not trying to swap a stressful thought for a more positive one. You just let it come and go.
“Treat racing thoughts the way you’d treat the weather,” she says. “Acknowledge it and watch it pass. Anger, frustration, and chasing sleep will only drive it further away.”
Other techniques Marchetti has seen work well for clients include:
- Coping statements: short, grounding phrases you return to when anxious thoughts spiral
- Mindfulness: staying anchored in the present moment rather than the what-ifs
- Diaphragmatic breathing: slow, deep breathing that calms the nervous system
- Cognitive shuffling: a mental technique that distracts the brain with random, unrelated images to interrupt anxious thought loops
If sleep trouble persists at least three nights a week for three months or longer, Marchetti advises seeing a sleep specialist.
Read more: How to Increase Deep Sleep for Better Rest
More ways to take care of yourself when unemployed
Maybe you’re ready to build momentum to land your next role and dive into applying for jobs. Or maybe you need a week to decompress and get your bearings. Whichever headspace you’re in, give yourself grace and don’t sacrifice your well-being. Beyond getting enough sleep, here are a few ways to stay proactive with your self-care.
Tackle all the paperwork first
When you leave a company, there’s a surprising amount of logistics to sort through, many with real deadlines attached. Start by reviewing your separation letter and noting what needs your attention, then work through it one item at a time.
This could include:
- Reviewing and signing your severance package
- Applying for unemployment
- Enrolling in new health insurance
- Moving your 401(k) into a Traditional IRA or Roth IRA
It’s tedious, but it protects your assets — including your health — and clears some mental clutter so you can focus on your next moves.
Establish a new routine
Work gives most of us an external structure for our days. When that disappears, it can feel disorienting, especially when your days are unpredictable.
“Work doesn’t just occupy our time, it anchors our circadian rhythm,” explains Marchetti. “Regular wake times, morning light exposure, meals, exercise, and social interaction all serve as time cues that tell the brain when to be awake and when to sleep.”
A routine of your own can help regulate your internal clock and nervous system, while also cutting down on the many small daily decisions that tend to drain your energy.
This could include:
- Setting a consistent sleep and wake schedule
- Moving your body — a gym session, a home workout, or a long walk
- Eating balanced meals around the same time each day
- Searching and applying to jobs for a couple of hours a day
Beyond the routine itself, live your life. Carving out time for home projects and hobbies can help give you a sense of purpose, accomplishment, and joy, especially on the hard days.
Plan a survival budget
Digging into your finances can stir up real panic. But getting a clear financial picture is one of the most effective ways to quiet it.
- Calculate your bare-minimum monthly expenses (housing, utilities, groceries, transportation, etc.)
- Divide your total savings by your monthly expenses to see how many months you can float
- Review your spending for anything non-essential you can cut
- Get a realistic sense of how urgently you need to start earning again
- Look into social resources like food pantries, meal programs, SNAP, and WIC. There’s no shame in seeking help, even if you’re not in dire straits. If you qualify, every bit eases the pressure while you look for what’s next.
Spend time with your community
It’s easy to slide into isolation when you’re feeling low, but leaning on your community can be the thing that pulls you back out.
If you know someone else who’s job hunting, consider becoming each other’s accountability buddy. A weekly or biweekly call or coffee to share progress, swap resources, or just take a break together can be a balm. I’ve done this with friends, and it lifted my spirit and kept me motivated on weeks when I had little motivation of my own.
Your anxiety might not dissipate completely, and your sleep may take time to recover, but these proactive actions can make unemployment feel more manageable.
Read more: Micro-Joys: Why Small Pleasures Are Saving Our Sanity
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