Some Amazon workers have been posting about feeling surprised by anger or sadness in the weeks after their jobs were terminated. Initially, they were coping just fine, then out of the blue… these deeper feelings.
To those who work with grief, this is actually what we would expect for people suffering a loss. Deeper feelings sometimes take time to reveal themselves. They can come in “waves,” flooding in without warning, and unmooring us for a while.
After a loss, we may make sense of things on one level, such as cognitively; rationalizing events, understanding them with our minds. Later, we may feel more emotional. Or have unexpected psychological responses.
In addition to being forewarned, and to being kind to yourself, it’s worth considering support, to help address the responses of different levels of your being. For example, initially, it may be about making plans for a job search. Then grief counseling may be helpful, as you deal with the emotions coming up around your lost income or the loss of community and belonging that your job provided. Later, as memories of other losses from the past surface, spiritual care can help you make meaning of this loss in the broader context of your life journey.