Depression in the Recession

Face It: You're Addicted to Success
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123423234983566171.html

The current economic situation is not only taking a hold on people's pocketbooks, but their state of mind as well. As a society, we have long associated people with their profession, or "what they do". It's often a common question we ask upon first meeting people. "Hello Mrs. Smith, what is it that you do, again?" This article taps into this sense of identity, saying that as people around the country lose or change their jobs, they are losing that identity. Instead of a conversation going like this: "What does your wife do?" "She is a 1st grade teacher", it goes like this: "What does your wife do?" "Well, she was recently laid off". How does that wife feel now? She has lost that sense of identity. The article goes on to say that as people become higher up in a company or organization, they continue to thrive off of their success. However, are they really happier? One successful professional said no. "I've published a lot of books, but when I look back, I'm no happier than in graduate school sleeping on a mattress on the floor," said Dr. Robert Leahy in the article. A solution to this problem? The article suggests a better work/life balance. Rather than continuing to associate oneself with their work, these people need to have a life and fulfillment outside of their profession.

I can identify with this article, not because I have lost a job and seemingly my identity, but because I am currently searching for a job in a tough economy. I have always seen myself as an independent and successful person. Sure, I have definitely failed at tasks and made mistakes, but I like to think that through continued perseverence my success can outweigh my failures. Yet, through the job-searching process I can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of defeat. I am starting to question if I really have been successful in the past and if all my hard work has no purpose in terms of finding a career. Thus, I am placing my identity in "success", which I am defining as a job or career. I can take away from this article that a career or job is not how I should define myself completely, and even that finding my ideal job right now probably won't happen.