This Is Uncomfortable How do I cope with layoff anxiety?
Feb 26, 2026
Jannese Torres, a financial educator who breaks down budgeting, emergency savings and benefits. Melody Wilding, an executive coach who offers career strategies for signaling value and building optionality. Ellen Hendriksen, a clinical psychologist who explains how layoff anxiety looks and how to reframe worries. They talk practical financial steps, career positioning, and mental-health tools to handle uncertainty.
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Layoff Anxiety Is Multifaceted And Often Valid
- Ellen Hendriksen explains layoff anxiety shows up physically, emotionally, and behaviorally, from sleep trouble to excessive reassurance seeking.
- She notes the current moment has shifted many cases from irrational fear to appropriate, valid worries tied to economic signals like AI and restructuring.
Calculate Catastrophes Step By Step
- Turn catastrophic “what ifs” into a probability math problem by listing each step to the feared outcome and assigning likelihoods.
- Multiplying those step probabilities typically reveals an extremely low overall chance.
Use Change And Acceptance Levers Together
- Ellen differentiates two levers for coping: change (control what you can) and acceptance (make room for uncertainty).
- She suggests building 'certainty anchors' like scheduled resume updates or daily routines to stabilize amid uncertainty.