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lethekkHamilton Nolan
6/25/13 10:56am
I really worry about what I would do if I were ever unemployed. I come from a Dutch Calvinist background, and the 'protestant work ethic' is something that really sinks into you. I've never been unemployed, even for a day, because I would literally take any job available to avoid that stigma (and of course, because I'm fortunate enough to live in an area with plenty of lower wage, low-skill jobs available like call centres and farms). I know it's not healthy, but a large part of my identity is tied up in working and contributing. If that were taken away from me, I'd lose it.

ETA - I'm not saying these people wouldn't take any job- as I noted, I live in an area with plenty of jobs for which I'm qualified for. I'm eternally grateful for that fact.
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  HelenaLikesSugarlethekk
  6/25/13 11:24am
  I get this. I have been unemployed for a month and I feel like every person in NYC has a copy of my resume/cover letter at this point. I have an interview tomorrow for a "full-time paid internship" in my field, and I plan on taking it if it is offered. I wanted to apply at a coffee shop/boutique the day I woke up with nothing to do, but I figured I would give myself some amount of time off to send out resumes and (hopefully) go on interviews.
  
  Oh, and I don't come from a protestant background, but one of Catholic shame.
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  pingablinglethekk
  6/25/13 12:03pm
  The Calvinist work ethic is one of the worst things to happen to this country. The stigma is not real. Why is working all the time an inherent good? How much working is enough?
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emdroidHamilton Nolan
6/25/13 11:28am
All the suicide talk makes me sick to my stomach. If you feel that way, please get help, but don't act like it's just the job thing making you feel that way. You'll figure something out... Try pulling your attitude out of the gutter and think about all the ways life is still awesome even if you are broke and jobless.
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  Dear Zeusemdroid
  6/25/13 11:41am
  It's really not that easy if legit depression starts to sink in. If you haven't been there it is very difficult to understand how you just can't up and pull yourself out of it. I agree that the people considering suicide should find some sort of care with a doctor who understands their monetary position but it's not an issue of just having a bad attitude.
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  diadem12starsemdroid
  6/25/13 12:45pm
  This is probably the most insensitive comment I've read so far this week and I frequent REDDIT of all cesspools on the internet.
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Freddie DeBoerHamilton Nolan
6/25/13 10:35am
In the short term, the unemployment rate has fallen, though the U-6 rate, which is what's actually important, is still far too high. But the general trend is not cyclical: workforce participation rates have fallen fairly steadily for decades. Capital-biased technological change is not going away, and so we're likely to be in a permanent employment crisis. In a country in which our basic system depends on something resembling full employment, this is an existential problem. I have absolutely no faith that our current political order can be creative enough to solve it.
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twizzlerHamilton Nolan
6/25/13 1:01pm
I wanted so badly to die for the past 4 years. Losing my job as a newspaper reporter meant I lost my identity and all my "friends," along with income and health insurance. I tried to kill myself several times but failed. It was only because my sister finally dragged me to the Social Security office and forced me to apply for disability that I did it, and got approved, and now have an income and Medicare.

And guess what? I'm no longer suicidal. I got help thanks to being on Social Security. Meds work. Therapy works. Exercise and Buddhism work. You have to "work the program" just like an alcoholic, every fucking day, but it works if you try.

Mitt Romney would call me a "taker" and a "sponge" but being on government assistance has fucking saved my life. Just being able to have a little bit of money to buy my own food and not mooch off relatives has restored my pride and feelings of self-sufficiency and self-worth.

I really don't like sharing this with Gawker. But it's for the first poster, and all the ones just like her, and me. We deserve to be alive. We have something to contribute. I hope by sticking around to be able to say that, it will make a difference to someone else. Especially you, first poster. I read this:

I know in my heart that what anyone else thinks doesn't matter, but my brain runs in every direction at once, and all those directions lead to being criticized, to not being good enough, to being a loser. I can't seem to do anything right. I'm paralyzed by the fear that I'll do something wrong,

You wrote a really great summation of how tormenting depression and self-doubt are, and why they're so hard to fight, because it's just one endless torment loop.

We need people in the world with insights like that. Stick around, let your boyfriend love you, and then figure out what you're going to do with all you have learned during your stay in Troubletown.
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  twizzlertwizzler
  6/25/13 1:35pm
  And now I finished Story #2 and I want to get you out of that house and under somebody else's rules!
  
  Sigh. Self-sufficiency and self-esteem. You don't realize how important those are until you lose them.
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  twizzlertwizzler
  6/25/13 1:55pm
  Fuuuuck. I'm halfway through and just want to have everyone over for a kegger. Like, a yearlong kegger. Just to party through this tough economic time until hopefully things get better.
  
  Don't any one of you brilliant a-holes off yourselves, OK? Let all the illiterate youtube commenters do that. (Well no, not them either.)
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ThatsMariaToYouHamilton Nolan
6/25/13 11:49am
I don't want to just thank HamNo for starting this series, but also to everyone who shared their stories and those who were supportive with their comments, concerns and well wishes. As one of the first stories posted in this series, I made sure to read each installment religiously. A year after sharing my story, I can tell that things have gotten better - even if it's just that we've figured out how to get by. I think in times of hardship, support is the best thing one can give and this forum has been a piece of that. Thank you, everyone.
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RussianistHamilton Nolan
6/25/13 11:34am
Hamilton,

I want to thank you and Gawker for presenting this series. While I've been fortunate enough to have had steady work during this awful economic period, I remember how discouraging and depressing it was in the years when I didn't have it. Hearing other people's stories is always a balm in these cases, whether it's knowing that things are worse for others or can get better or — most importantly — that one isn't alone.

I wish I could say there's no longer a need for this series, but we all know that's not the case. We are mired in a chronic, on-going global depression and economic shift that's been mitigated only by the social safety net conservatives have spent the last 30 years trying to destroy. The official unemployment numbers bear less and less connection to the reality of what's out there with every week, and more and more jobs that seemed secure are being automated or outsourced or off-shored away.

These realities mean that most of us — especially young people — must adjust our expectations, and yet the media-industrial complex and politicians from both parties still sell the old myths. Despite the regular claims by some commenters that this series have been all "gloom and doom," it has in actuality contributed to a sorely needed counter-narrative — one that both unemployed and comfortably employed Americans need to hear. Good work.
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SamGawkerHamilton Nolan
6/25/13 11:50am
Ugh and here I am complaining about my negotiations for a raise (though I was up until a few months ago unemployed for about 9 months).

Ways to cope: Monetize what you know or have: skillshares, rideshare like lyft, taskrabbit, look on craigslist (I don't mean donating sperm/eggs, though some people do that and you shouldn't rely on that. You will figure out what is a scam and what isn't), if you're a church going type or have been go and inquire as that's a fairly helpful community, or at least they will try to to keep you to help build their community. If you're patient and relatable, ask about tutoring peoples kids. Spend your spare time scouring MOOC's like Coursera/Udacity seeing what skills you can learn to bolster your resume.

VOLUNTEER. Gives you something to do, interact with people that may be less fortunate, and you may even meet someone eventually that can help you, and it also looks good on resumes if people wonder about unemployment gaps you can talk about your active search and also the fact that you volunteered during this time looks good.

In regards to friends, it really depends on how you treat your friends. If you're the type who only talks to your friends when you need something, don't be shocked/surprised that they are less enthusiastic/responsive to helping you out.

School linkedin pages might help too , or communities of like minded folks. Meetups too I guess, but less so, and you might have to spend money if it's a social gathering.

That said, I didn't get a job through either of these means, but have gotten great connections or references or friends or ways to cope with not having steady income. Good luck to everyone.
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  BunsenHoneyDewSamGawker
  6/25/13 3:53pm
  The problem with being unemployed is that keeping busy requires money. You may not have to pay to participate but you often have to pay to get yourself there via transportation or providing lunch for yourself or other hidden costs. If you're making $400 every two weeks (the max in my state is $600), all of your money is going towards trying to survive so the costs associated with getting yourself somewhere often prohibits volunteering.
  
  I have been unemployed for over a year now. I live in a large urban center. I am about to start a new job finally but for the year that I was unemployed any extra money I had was set aside for being able to afford to drive to interviews. I ate microwave popcorn as a my sole meal for the day for weeks. I thought about helping out at a pet rescue center or a church but the large urban center I live in has no organized public transportation, so I would have to drive. I think it would have been different if I could have walked or taken a bus but even here buses are like $2.50 one way. That suddenly becomes an unseemly sum of money that can buy you 6 packages of Ramen vs. one bus ride.
  
  I don't qualify for food stamps because I'm single with no children in my city and I don't have any long term illnesses. If I had at least one child or diabetes, I would be eligible for all sorts of subsidies. I am too overskilled to work at Target or sling coffee or wait tables. I have applied and applied and applied to those jobs, too. If I get a reason why, its only because I call and press about the status of my application.
  
  The other problem is that survival is exhausting. You are so worn out at the end of every given day trying so hard to figure out how you're going to make through the week that you have nothing left over. You become essentially this being who is trapped in the vortex of their apartment, drinking tap water and eating popcorn and scouring the Internet (Craigslist, LinkedIn, everything, your friends, everything). The mental gymnastics it takes to urge yourself on.... I can't even describe what its like.
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  SamGawkerBunsenHoneyDew
  6/25/13 5:14pm
  Yah it was really rough. I was spending 8-15 hours a day on my computer sending in personalized resumes/cover letters that never got read making calls that were never returned and things like that. Walking around and finding things to do definitely was a stress relief for me, and sometimes you need a break.
  
  I guess your location is a factor too. In SF it was more difficult to get around whereas in NYC I could walk everywhere in 30 mins to an hr, or get lucky with someones unlimited.
  
  I also was very tight with budget (haven't bought clothes in 3 or 4 years, sold things I didn't need, scour deal sites like slickdeals and figure out ways to maximize groupon -nothing like getting 15 bagels and cream cheese for 0 bucks after referring a friend! 10 meals worth of food!). I know people that try to buy and sell items that go on sale but really it's very difficult. On a good week you'll make 20-30 bucks (if you're really lucky) but realistically you'll barely come out ahead 2-5 dollars.And you need access to a printer and a local ups/usps
  
  Also having access to a kitchen/stove is huge. With tortillas, beans, spinach, spaghetti, potatos, rice, eggs, bulk cheerios and bananas, I was able to get my cost per meal to 15-50 cents a day at most. It's usually 10-40 cents cheaper plus the diversity keeps things nice, haven't had to buy ramen in a while. Not sure the cost of microwaved popcorn per meal either.
  
  (I did see a few weeks ago 200 pop tarts for 16 dollars though and was tempted to buy it but no one wanted to split it w/ me -shocker).
  
  Congrats on the new job!
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JonacondaHamilton Nolan
6/25/13 11:15am
I spent a total of two years in my twenties unemployed. These stories provided a rare outlet for commiseration (you don't know what it's like until you've lived it), and kept me grounded when I finally, mercifully got back to work. As some writers have noted, though, you'll always keep the scars in one way or another.

At risk of sounding trite, best wishes to all of those unemployed and their loved ones. "Get a job" polemics from friends still make me foam at the mouth... if only it were that easy.
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pingablingHamilton Nolan
6/25/13 12:10pm
If there is only one thing this series could accomplish, I hope it's this: people realize it's not their fault. The overwhelming emotions I get from these are guilt and shame. Which makes the situation 10 times harder. It reminds me of sexual assault victims - the rape is bad enough but the guilt and shame they pile on themselves after makes everything worse. This US work ethic is one more way to make people feel bad about society's failures.
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  TheAncientOnepingabling
  6/27/13 10:08pm
  Blaming the victim is a proud U.S. custom, unfortunately. We desperately want to believe that anybody can be a huge success. We pretend that hard work and good skills and blah blah blah will guarantee a person success. No; good luck has as much to do with it as anything.
  
  People pick apart these stories and say, "Aha! This is where you went wrong!" as if they really understand how easy it is to fall from being comfortably middle class to dirt poor. But they don't get it until it happens to them.
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StenchofaburnerHamilton Nolan
6/25/13 10:59am
This series has been one of the best things I've ever read on Gawker, HamNo. Thank you and thanks to everyone who contributed. I hope every person has found some degree of peace, contentment and the possibility to make it through.
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