
Ask HN: Anyone here climbed up from rock bottom? How did you do it? - akudha
Nearly all my team was laid off on Friday. I was talking to one of them, it isn&#x27;t pretty. These are good people, good at their jobs and yet, were tossed aside without a thought (the company itself is doing well by the way).<p>Which brings me to : how does one climb up from bad situations? Not just career wise, but life in general. Especially if one is in their 40s and 50s with responsibilities (kids, mortgage etc).
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simonblack
It all depends on your definition of 'rock bottom'.

I lost my wife house and family all at once when I was 42. "How do I start
again when my life is nearly over?" I spent several weeks just staring at the
wall. A friend asked me what I did before I was married. 'Travelling' I said.
"Well, do that again." she said.

So I did. Being self-dependent for six weeks got me out of my depression.
Within a month or two, friends came out of the wood-work. Within six months, I
had to choose which of two women I would stay with.

I chose well, 32 years later we're still together.

"You have to like yourself first, before others can like you."

~~~
ranc1d
This is so important! "You have to like yourself first, before others can like
you."!

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dublin
Went through both the emotional an financial rock bottom in recent years at
least twice. The key is to realize that you, yes, you, were created (yes, you
have a creator!) to perform certain works that only you can do. Work on faith
(I can honestly say that without Christian faith, and reading St. Augustine's
writings on suicide, I would have killed myself years ago). That's the first
thing.

Secondly, make positive progress every day. Make _some_ money, even if it's
not enough yet. Cut expenses to the bone, and then cut more. (We managed to
keep our house, but in retrospect, should have sold it and downsized.) The
good news is that both my wife and I have good jobs now, and we're socking
away enough money to dig out of the hole. It's not fun, but we're heading up.
Hang in there, and make sure you do something to move the ball forward every
single day. And seriously, find a prayer and/or bible study group to help you
through - these are tough times, and we're stronger together, but realize that
none of us has any strength next to the one who created you and everything
else. (Not to get preachy, but Chrisitianity really is the most uplifting and
freeing thing ever - all your screwups have been paid for, and if you just
believe that, you are adopted into the family of the God of the Universe.
That's pretty amazing good news, and the ultimate empowerment!)

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qplex
If it's financial rock bottom as in that you need to make ends meet, to
sustain yourself and your family, it's mostly the environment that dictates
what can be done. If the situation seems absolute, as in that no suitable jobs
are available, securing land and growing food yourself etc. can go a long way.

Emotional rock bottom: probably goes in hand with the former. Anyway, don't
blame yourself. I dunno who made the call and on what grounds they made it.
That kind of stuff eats you, especially if you don't know.

In any case I urge you to keep going and wish you all the best. Much to
wonder, and live for.

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rockbottomta
After a series of bad decisions I quit some well-paying big company jobs to
chase a startup dream. 4 years later I was living in a trailer and my health
and relationships were deteriorating.

Deus Ex Machina, crypto started its rampage of a bull run. In desperation I
started sifting through old hard drives. I found about 20 and was able to sell
near the top (~$400k).

I don't have anything useful, just an observation that it's a bit scary how
strong momentum can be, whether positive or negative.

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cyberdrunk
If they're in 40s and 50s and they are in tech, they should have savings which
would make the transition to a new job painless.

