The loss of a job, loss of a career, dislocation and living in the ‘wrong’ place can send any one of us into a place of mourning.
Affected by strange dreams, anxiety, a feeling each morning of waking up in the wrong place, town or country can all be part of a process of grief.
Work Grief: Maybe you had your dream job, possibly not even knowing it was your dream job until it was gone, but now you are surprised to realise that you feel stressed, or angry, or are depressed? Maybe for months afterwards you having been trying to work out why you still feel as you do?
Sometimes we have decided to leave our job for all the ‘right’ reasons but still feel so unhappy, and sometimes we were exited from our job and have been left bruised and angry, with no-one to talk to about the depth of distress.
So how can we help ourselves move on when months or several years later we still feel drawn back to our previous work identity?
Location Grief: Increasingly many of us move for work and family reasons, looking to feel connected with a new place and community. Sometimes this is exciting and stimulating, but also sometimes we are left realising just how much we loved where we used to be.
For some of us, being married or committed to family means we end up being where we would not have chosen to be culturally or geographically – and it can bring up pain of dis-location. Our sense of belonging and what feels normal can be deeply affected: quality of light, temperatures, sounds and landscapes can all be so different that we feel sad, distressed, anxious and in mourning for our old place where we felt at home.