“I can’t find a job and I’m depressed” How can hypnotherapy help?

If you’ve ever found yourself staring at your laptop in the early hours of the morning, whispering “I can’t find a job and I’m depressed”, let me tell you something: you’re not alone!

For the past few weeks, I have been seeing on my YouTube feeds tonnes of videos where people record a last-minute meeting with HR and their managers, who let them know that today would be their last day. Shocked and in tears, those YouTubers share their frustration, fears, but also their plan of action to get out of this situation.

Although I am writing this article as a hypnotherapist, I wanted to inject my six years’ experience in recruitment to provide deeper insights that would, I hope, help those who are going through redundancy.

I have been working with clients who deal with “unemployment depression”. These clients show symptoms similar to depression. They are overwhelmed, irritable, emotionally drained, questioning their self-worth, have difficulties sleeping, experience a change in appetite, have strong anxiety about the future and show little or no interest in continuing job hunting. 

One of my clients told me, “I feel like I’m shouting into a void. I apply, I tweak my CV, I even upskill. Still nothing. My confidence is gone, I’m anxious 24/7, and I feel like I’ve failed at life.” 

Although hypnotherapy is a powerful modality, I think it is equally important to contextualise the economic situation, as it helps to see the bigger picture. I found it really useful, especially when working with Gen-Zs, who are often unfairly labelled as 'lazy' or 'unfit for corporate life', when actually, they’re navigating one of the toughest job markets in decades.

Another client who graduated but still has not got any full-time position shared: “I’ve applied to over 150 jobs last week. I customise every cover letter, I’ve even done unpaid internships. Still nothing. My sleep is wrecked, I cry in secret after interviews, and I feel like I’m running out of time at 24. I try to stay positive, but honestly? I just feel broken.”

It’s not you, it’s the job market

According to the ONS June 2025 release, the UK unemployment rate rose to 4.6% for the period February to April 2025, the highest rate since mid-2021. It also reports that job vacancies fell to 736,000, continuing a long downward trend. 

For Gen Z and recent graduates, entry-level positions, particularly in fields like media and marketing, have become scarce. This scarcity is due to companies reducing graduate schemes and internships amid economic uncertainties, but also, with the rise of AI, which allows businesses to automate many tasks.

While Millennials, often in mid-career stages, face a saturated job market with increased competition and fewer advancement opportunities, Boomers and older professionals encounter age-related biases, with many employers perceiving them as less adaptable or more costly. 

Whether you’re trying to break into a competitive field or rebuild your career after redundancy, the process is emotionally exhausting, not because job seekers are doing it wrong, but because the system is harder than it’s ever been. 

“I can’t find a job”: The voices behind job search depression

When working with the power of the subconscious, it is important to challenge limiting beliefs and negative inner voices, such as “I will never find a job again”.

It is also very important to ensure clients understand they are feeling low, not because they haven’t been trying, but because they’ve tried everything.

Another client who was made redundant after a decade in tech shared that “I’m constantly refreshing job boards, I am everywhere Indeed, Reed, CV-Library, LinkedIn, but at best I get automated messages to tell me I have been unsuccessful, at worst, I am totally ghosted. Silence is the real issue as I don’t know what I do wrong. I used to manage big tech projects. I feel useless. I wake up at 3 am with a racing heart, terrified that I’ll never work again and wonder how I am going to pay my mortgage and take care of my family”.

One powerful hypnotherapy technique that I use is called the inner critic reset. In a relaxed state of hypnosis, I ask clients to listen this critical inner voice saying, “I’m not good enough, I am a loser” or “I will never find a job again.” and rather than silencing it, we explore where it came from and what it’s trying to protect. Then, we introduce a new, supportive voice often visualised as a wiser, future version of yourself to counter those limiting beliefs with compassion and truth.

How hypnotherapy can help to cope with job search depression

What I find important to address is that losing a job is harder for some people, as it was more than that. Their job represented their identity, their purpose, their connection to the world; many of my clients made strong friendships with their colleagues, and for them, this loss is experienced as a form of grief.

There is also this notion of accepting a situation they have not chosen, which can be explored in a conscious state or during hypnosis.

In fact, hypnotherapy doesn’t just treat the symptoms, it helps calm the nervous system and reprogram the subconscious, where fear, shame and self-sabotage live.

Research shows that when working on a subconscious level, we can help:

• regulate the nervous system, helping to shift from panic to calm
• rebuild confidence through visualisation, suggestion and mental rehearsal
• identify and remove limiting beliefs that tell you you’re too old, too inexperienced or not good enough
• restore clarity and energy when burnout makes it hard to function

Hypno-lucid dreaming: A powerful tool when you’re depressed from unemployment

Using lucid dreaming may sound unconventional, but when combined with hypnotherapy, it offers a deep and powerful way to shift your relationship with fear and professional uncertainty. 

Through dream work, you can tap into the full power of your subconscious and regain confidence and support your job search. Here are a few things I train my clients to do:

• Rehearse interviews or presentations in a calm, pressure-free dream environment. This mental rehearsal helps reduce anxiety and builds real-life confidence, especially before high-stakes conversations.
• Repeated rejection trains the mind to expect failure, but you can confront those by engaging with symbolic dream scenarios. Facing these emotions in a dream can help release tension and shift how you respond to setbacks in waking life.
• Asking yourself the big question and explore career direction with clarity by tapping into your intuition. Dreams can offer creative, sometimes unexpected insights that help you sense what feels aligned. And this is beyond logic or external pressure!

Small steps you can take today

While you explore whether hypnotherapy or lucid dreaming might help you, here are a few practical things you can do right now, because looking for a job requires you to be strong and resilient.

• Limit your time on social media or job boards, especially if they leave you feeling drained or inadequate. Doom-scrolling or watching rant videos can deepen the spiral rather than help you out of it.
• Set small, manageable goals, for instance, one CV tweak or a specific number of applications per day. Consistency always beats intensity.
• Reach out to a friend, family member, or therapist. You don’t have to carry this alone, and isolation often makes everything feel harder than it already is

Finally, I want you to remember that if you’re stuck in that loop of “I can’t find a job and I’m depressed”, what you really need isn’t more pressure, it’s permission to move forward.