⚠️ Trigger Warning: This episode contains real, raw conversations about mental health, depression, and suicidal thoughts. If you are in crisis or need support, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You are not alone.

Episode 5: Emotionally Unstable But Make It Cute: Rejection, Burnout & My Spiral Era

This is a life update. I didn’t just lose a job. I lost the version of myself I built to survive.

When I got laid off, it wasn’t just my income that disappeared. It was my confidence. My identity. My mental health. My sense of control. Every job title, every career win, every “you’re killing it” LinkedIn comment I had built my worth around suddenly felt meaningless. And what was left? The quiet collapse nobody talks about. The mental health spiral you hide behind curated Instagram posts. The job search burnout that leaves you staring at rejection emails and ghosted interviews, while every well-meaning “you got this” starts to feel like pressure you can’t hold.

This isn’t my glow-up story. This is the messy, unfiltered middle. The part where you refresh your inbox 20 times a day, wondering if your résumé is cursed. The part where you stop reaching out because you don’t want to feel like a burden. The shame loop that eats at your self-worth while you keep applying to jobs that never reply.

In this episode of Clocked In, Checked Out, I get honest about post-layoff identity loss, job search anxiety, professional ghosting, LinkedIn comparison spirals, burnout, and the mental health cost of pretending you’re fine. And maybe — just maybe — why it’s okay to crack. Because if you never break open, how can anything new grow?

If you’ve been laid off, burned out from job hunting, stuck in career limbo, or whispered “what am I doing with my life” while doomscrolling at 2 AM… this episode is for you.

🍸 Cocktail of the Week: Simply Scotch
Because sometimes you don’t need extra ingredients — just something strong enough to sit with the weight.

Ingredients:
2 oz Scotch
Large ice cube (or whatever you’ve got)

Directions:
Pour. Sip slowly. Let the heaviness breathe.

Whether you’re barely holding it together or just need some emotional validation, I’m right there with you.

Follow for more chaos, layoff recovery stories, mental health honesty, career rejection therapy, and cocktail-fueled breakdowns:

Instagram: @ClockedInCheckedOutPod
TikTok: @ClockedInCheckedOutPod
Have your own layoff spiral, job search meltdown, or “I swear I’m fine” moment?
Slide into my DMs or email: ClockedInCheckedOutPod@gmail.com.
We just might read it on air (fake names, obviously).