I empathize. I had a patch where I was jobless for about 18 months. You have things a lot harder than I did having been out of work for twice as long and in a much worse economy. I don't know if it will help you but it helped me. I started volunteering. I figured I wasn't doing anything other than sitting on my @$$ being bored so volunteering to read stories to kids at the local library would at least give me something to do two afternoons a week. It felt great to be doing something, anything, other than sitting around doing nothing. I started feeling better about myself so I started taking better care of myself. I started getting up early again to go walking with one of my neighbors. After the walk they went to work and I went to the library and kept at my job search. I started doing more volunteer work for other charities. I still didn't have a job or any money but I was being productive again. Eventually, I found a job. It wasn't through any contact I had made doing volunteer work or anything like that and my volunteer work wasn't even on my resume. But I think that the sense of empowerment I got from doing the volunteer work made a big impact on my self-esteem so when I finally got an interview for a job that I was qualified for I was able to make the best of it.
Just my two cents. I wish you the best.
29 Jul 2013, 11:49 pm
