Dealing with your Feelings while hunting for work

The job search can be a trying time. It's easy to be full of anxiety and nervousness while trying to figure out what job you will do next. It gets even worse when money is tight and it feels like no end is in site. The longer the job hunt goes on, the less money is available for use.  Feelings of unhappiness, hopelessness, and depression are common.  It is very important to deal with these feelings. Richard Bolles, the author of What Color is your Parachute offers a few suggestions for dealing with one's feelings while unemployed.

1. Get enough sleep! If  you are not getting enough rest, your body is not functioning all that well. I know this sounds hypocritical coming from a college student nearing finals week. What it comes down to is that you will feel better if you get enough sleep
2. Live a healthy lifestyle! This includes regular exercise, drinking plenty of water, reducing sugars, and eating a healthy and balanced diet.  
3. Change the physical surroundings around you. Many believe that your physical surroundings reflect how you feel. If they are a messy disaster, you likely will feel like a mess and anxious disaster. 
4. Get out! ( No literally, go outside and enjoy nature daily!) 
5. Focus on other people and their problems. Try volunteering at a place that interests you where you can also help others. Examples include a food bank, a hospital, or an animal shelter. 
6. Go on mini adventures! Explore  the area you live in. Find places you've never been and enjoy them. This will give you a break from obsessing about your unemployment.
7. Expand your mental horizons! Learn to better understand your brain to help heal. If that does not interest you, learn something new that sounds interesting to you. Did you want to play an instrument as a child? Never got around to it? Try it! 
8. Talk to people! Particularly relatives and close friends to release your pent up feelings. This will help you gain power over your feelings. 
9. Get angry! Go the gym or even use your pillows as a punching bag. This will help  you get some of your anger and frustration out. 
10. Keep a gratitude journal. Make a daily list of things you're grateful for. This will help you stop brooding about what is wrong and instead, think about the precious gifts we have. 

Keep your head up, the job hunt will eventually end. The feelings are hard to deal with now, but they will be replaced with different feelings when you finally get the job. All of these recommendations are still good recommendations for when you land a job.