HIFW job-hunting

It bugs me is that no one ever really talks about the hit your mental and emotional health takes when you are unemployed and trying to find work. Especially when facing this exact situation over and over.

And for people lurking here who think their situation is too bad to salvage anything of it, like I did, well, here's a story.

I've been unemployed for a little over 4 years. (The first 2 years, I was trying to get an education/taking classes part-time but it fell through). My employment history consists of intermittent freelance gigs.

At the worst of it, I did not see any worth in myself. Seriously considered sex work after some rich guy propositioned me. Debated the pros/cons of killing myself. All the things that are standard fare for this train ride. Then I went off the rails completely (yay psychosis).

My doctor and therapist nearly sent me to hospital. They weren't even sure I'd be able to handle a job or be independent again. But things started to improve. By June I was okay enough to get back into the hunt.

One position I applied for 5 times, was about to give up on it because the offsite HR department was a mess. Then the manager of the department contacted me directly and now I have an in-person interview next Tuesday. I have no idea how it will go. Might get rejected, might not.

If I had to consider all this a story of someone else's life, I'd probably tell them, You're doing really, really well. Keep going, it's going to be okay.

If there's anything I've learned, it's that people self-worth and who they are as a person in the strangest ways.

Self-worth? It's not defined by people's rejections, or numbers, or a diagnosis. You define that. At the end of the day, on the most basic and arguably most important level, you are the person you depend on most. You are the one who keeps yourself alive.

Take a mental health day if you need to. Show yourself kindness. Don't stop moving and keep fighting.

/r/TrollXChromosomes Thread Link - i.imgur.com