Seems like a stupid question but worth pondering. It's hard to imagine a diligent person made lazy by a period of unemployment, but happy people are made depressed by it, right?

Does having the luxury of taking a nap make you lazy? In my case, I would say no. Much as I love naps, I hardly ever take them, and I usually only take them when I have a ton of work to do and stay up late doing it.

Anger can motivate you if you direct it that way.

On this issue, I am an expert. If you've surfed around my blog at all, you've probably noticed a pattern of optimism punctuated by periods of searing rage, or maybe it's the other way around. All I know is, unemployment pisses me off sometimes.

Toward the end of this post, I'm going to tell you how I deal with it and even use it to my advantage, but first I want to address the issue of anger itself.

...when unemployment freaks you out

[Disclaimer: The following should not be construed as professional advice. If you suffer from panic attacks or severe anxiety, please seek professional help. If you are having thoughts of suicide, don't read this post! Go here or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) IMMEDIATELY.]

I don't want to seem like some kind of know-it-all. The stress and tragedy (so much of it internal) of being unemployed ties me in knots every single day. That being said, I am an old pro at this joblessness thing, having been in various states of it for the past 2.5 years and also having endured it during the recession of the early 1990s, when I was a strapping young buck fresh out of college.