Career Coach on 8 Ways to Start Over | What if you Lost it All

By Jim WestPublished On: June 17th, 20091.9 min read

Orlando Career Coach and Counselor comments on career loss. Watching the news every night I am reminded of the many losses people are facing as our economy continues to struggle. Recently a family in Heathrow, Florida was found dead from a murder-suicide. Investigators believe it was financial woes that pushed the father to his breaking point to kill himself and the rest of his family. We are seeing more job loss, bankruptcy, divorce, suicide, and homicide as the economy plummets. How do people survive this crisis?

How do we help others or ourselves when there is a need to begin again, following a tragedy, major loss or failure? After discussing this informally with a few friends who have been released from local jobs I have learned all recognize the need to grieve. Each has struggled with anger, discouragement, disappointment, sadness and anxiety. These people know that things may get worse before they get better. They recognize that life will never be like it was before. But they’re finding ways to recover and rebound. Here are a few:

1. Embrace the feelings. Admit the pain. Give yourself permission to grieve.
2. Don’t rush the process. Few people bounce back. Recovery and renewal are more like steady growth with periodic setbacks.
3. Keep in contact with others who are supportive but who can gently and sensitively push you forward.
4. Don’t dwell on injustice, revenge,or on things beyond your influence or control. Fantasies about getting even only hurt the fantasy-maker and slow the recovery process.

5. Get exercise, even when you don’t feel like it. Exercise can help your body and brain resist illness, think more clearly, fight depression, and have a more positive attitude.
6. Keep learning. This is something that we can control. It has been suggested that “use it or lose it” applies to every part of your body, mind, and social life.
7. Prioritize what is most important. Go to family, friends and spirituality for support rather than alcohol, drugs and anything else that might be unhealthy.
8. Let yourself dream about what can be. Keeping visions alive can help us all grow beyond the past and move forward to a positive future.

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Jim West

Adolescent Expert, Jim West offers expert advice to Local and National TV News & Schools Internationally and provides phone or face-to-face counseling in the Orlando area. Jim is an Author, Communicator, School Consultant, Nationally Certified and State Licensed Counselor and specializes in counseling for Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADD/ADHD) and Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD). Jim has been interviewed for multiple TV, Radio, magazine and newspaper articles. He is president of Total Life Counseling Center and his Total Life approach accelerates the therapeutic & healing process by relating to children, adolescents and adults and incorporating wellness. Jim’s clients travel from all over Florida, England, Georgia, Cayman Islands and the Bahamas as he has been able to treat clients with ADHD, Anxiety, Mood Disorders, Depression and more with FDA approved supplements and Dietary Modifications. 85% of his clients have not needed medication or used less medication than when they first came to Total Life Counseling Center.

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Filed in: Blog, Career, Orlando

Total Life Counseling Center consists of Licensed Counselors, masters level therapists, Español counselors, Licensed Mental Health Counselors, business coaches, and image enhancement coaches who provide counseling for emotional, mental, physical and spiritual care including marriage, individual, family, substance abuse and more. TLC’s family, trauma and marriage experts have been interviewed on National and Local TV/Radio over 200 times for their expert advice on Fox News, OWN, WETV, ABC’s Medical Minute and more. Our skilled counselors are relational, approachable and specialists providing therapy services in the Central Florida area including: Orlando, Winter Park, MetroWest, Windermere, Dr. Phillips, East Orlando, Lake Mary, and Clermont, Boca Raton Florida, and Dallas, TX.