Laid off after 14 years and lost my whole identity
Fourteen years at the same company and my badge literally had my name before my actual name did in my head. Got the call on a Tuesday and by Friday I had no idea what to do with my hands. A colleague who went through something similar two years ago mentioned finding a resource that actually framed the identity loss part, not just the job search. Anyone navigate losing a career and not just an income?
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Been there in a different way. My aunt spent 19 years running operations at one place, then a merger wiped her role out in a week. She said the paycheck fear was real, but the weirder part was waking up without that built-in answer to “who am I?” She got stuck for months until she started focusing less on replacing the title and more on rebuilding routine and identity. This piece actually helped her a lot because it talks about the transition itself, not just résumés: life transitions therapy for adults dealing with change . That loss can feel deeply personal before it feels practical.