The Mindful Way to Handle Sudden Job Loss

(cursor clicks) (bright music) Headspace Studios. (gentle music) Hey there. Welcome to "Radio Headspace." I'm Dora, and I'm so glad that you're here. Recently, a community member reached out to me by email, describing how they had suddenly lost their job. She had received an unexpected email from HR, which led to an abrupt termination of her role due to company restructuring. In an instant, the job that she had worked so hard for was gone. She was left feeling stunned, disoriented, and frozen. Caught between disbelief and uncertainty about the future, she asked simply, "How do I even begin to move through this?" What she was experiencing was shock. And while the word shock might make us think of trauma or emergency situations like going into medical shock, I wanna talk about another kind of shock: the emotional and nervous system response to unexpected life events, those jarring life moments that knock the wind out of us. A breakup, a layoff, a loss. Shock in these moments is not a problem to fix. It's the body's way of buying time. It isn't good or bad. It's just human. It's a temporary pause that gives us the space to catch up with what has just happened. (gentle bright music) When this community member wrote to me, their email brought me back to a time when I supported another close friend going through a similar circumstance. I vividly recall the afternoon my friend had learned she had lost her job. We were sitting together in her cozy apartment. She had just finished making us some tea when her phone buzzed on the table. As she read the email, her face drained of color. "They let me go." She whispered in disbelief. The aftermath was an afternoon sunk in her couch, watching her reread the message as if the message could change. She was tearful and frozen. So we sat side by side. I acknowledged and validated her feelings, and as any mindfulness teacher would, I led her through a moment of grounding. We began by taking slow, mindful, deep breaths, placing our hands over our hearts, and trying our best to be in this moment. For the next few weeks, I'd check in on her, making sure she was caring for herself and moving through this transition with as much grace and ease as possible. Now, a whole year later, she has a new job and also a new skillset to support her in navigating change. So if you're feeling shocked, untethered, or just emotionally offline right now, know that your response is deeply human and you're also not alone. Shock is your nervous system's way of protecting you. It's not a failure or a flaw. It's a pause, an instinctive way your mind and body try to catch up to something that came too fast. You might feel blank, numb, or frozen, like you're floating outside of your own life. And while that sensation can be disorienting, it's also completely...