When the Internet economy roared, many people of modest professional and personal pedigree suddenly found themselves rocketed into positions of influence, visibility and wealth. And now that much of the digital economy is crashing with the same nauseating velocity, a lot of those people have plunged back to whence they came. The victims are beginning to arrive in the offices of psychiatrists and psychologists across the nation. Processing big changes that happen fast is a lot harder than coping with smaller or slower changes. Digital victims are likely to process the fall in emotional stages similar to those used to deal with death, said Bruce Pomerantz, a clinical psychologist in Chevy Chase, Md., who focuses on work-related stress.
People start with denial.
Then they feel anger, he said, blaming the decision-makers of the organization and the way the ups and downs were handled for their loss of personal station and wealth. We want them to get through to acceptance. Others can't let go of their former lives and the accompanying perks, and suffer a kind of identity crisis. LaBier maintains that this can prompt workers to reassess what is important to them and open doors to their true calling. Wildcats Jayhawks Washburn Univ.