Life after job loss: A reader embraces self-care

Good morning, DMV! It’s Wednesday, June 24.

Last month, I had asked readers to tell me about life after losing a job. Going through responses, this one from Chris Wathen, who was laid off on Oct. 30, struck me: “I have good days and bad, but the consistent undercurrent is I’ve been as depressed as I’ve ever been. I desperately want this time in my life to be over ….”

Ah, yes, likewise.

Yesterday, I met Chris, 38, who lives in the Navy Yard neighborhood of D.C., for lunch downtown. Amid the gray skies and steady rain, he told me the morning was a struggle. We tucked into our bento boxes and settled into conversation. He sipped on his boba tea.

He had worked nine years for the National Association of Counties, a nonprofit that advocates for county elected and professional officials. It was “a big shock considering my time there and the myriad relationships I’d developed and cherished,” he had written to me.

For a while, to boost his job-hunting efforts, he went to career network nights held every other Tuesday at a church in McLean. They discussed how to interview better, spruce up resumes and network.

Then, according to Chris, someone at one of these events said, “We keep seeing the same people over and over.” Chris told me he “didn’t want to be categorized that way.” He stopped going.

He has been actively job searching in the same field as his previous job, marketing, and has had several interviews.

“It has been a roller coaster of emotions with feeling close to several jobs, then getting rejections or simply never hearing back. I never thought I’d be unemployed for this long, and the whiplash from nine years of job security has been incredibly jarring,” he said.

“That said, I feel lucky to even get interviews, as countless friends and acquaintances haven’t landed one in a year or more. The local market feels incredibly competitive and makes each interview feel pressure-packed.”

The upside of his situation, he said, is that he received good advice early on about self-care, so he has been taking three classes a week at an Orangetheory Fitness gym.

“I’m definitely a lot healthier than I was when I had that job. Things like this give you perspective on life. It shows you what’s really important.”

I asked him how he was finding joy. He told me of a recent trip to Ireland with his mother. On June 12, the day he landed back stateside, he and friends went to Wolf Trap for a concert of bands he likes including Young the Giant, Cold War Kids and almost monday.

“Sitting out on that lawn on a summer night with a picnic while listening to good music always gives me joy,” he said, “but especially amidst all these stressors and especially when there was a beautiful rainbow after that Friday storm blew through.”

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Doralease Jackson, 60, sent in this pic of a “stray dog” that has been visiting her home in Farmville, Virginia, for three months.

“I haven't been able to touch her yet. But thought I would share a picture of her,” Doralease wrote in her submission.

Share your recent photos of life in the DMV here.

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