Out of the Office: Emily Reinhart
on What Happens When Your Body Says “Enough”
When panic attacks made it impossible to continue working in tech, Emily Reinhart walked away. She has spent the last several years learning to listen to her body, live on less, and focusing on the joy she gets from creating things that make people smile. In this conversation, Emily talks about loosening work’s grip on identity, the quiet joy of visible results, and hard work she has put into restoring her mental health.
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Q: Tell me a bit about the job you had before you became unemployed.
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Emily: I was an SEO Associate in tech—eventually I was promoted to Senior Associate. I liked the work for a while, but I started having panic attacks. The last one was so bad that I could not move for about two hours… I just froze. Six people were talking to me at once [on Slack and email] and I just could not do it anymore, so I quit. I was really jittery even thinking about being in another tech environment for a little while.
Lurking behind all of this is the fact that I’m depressed. So, I wound up trying a different antidepressants later and doing a lot of therapy. There comes a point in unemployment where you don’t have much to do, and you can only focus on your body. What does your body need today?
Q: How did you approach getting back into the workforce?
I spent eight months looking for another tech job but couldn’t find one that felt meaningful—or that didn’t make me anxious. Eventually, Spirit Halloween opened across the street, and I thought, why not? It was honestly the most fun I’ve ever had in a job. I was quickly promoted to management and discovered I had a lot of transferable skills from tech—problem-solving, organization, perfectionism—but in a hands-on environment.
From there, I worked at a candy shop and later a pet store. Retail was grounding, but I eventually hurt my hand and couldn’t keep doing it.
Q: How has unemployment affected your sense of identity?
Emily: It’s been intense. I’ve struggled with depression for a long time, and when you’re out of work, you start asking—what’s my purpose if I’m not producing? Therapy has helped me slow down and focus on basic needs: eat, shower, rest, things that had fallen to the wayside when I was working in tech. My therapist keeps asking me, “Who are you when no one’s watching?”
That question stuck with me. I had started making things just for fun—like a goofy hat that made my brother laugh—and realized that maybe that’s who I am: someone who creates things because they make people smile. I even started writing down ideas for a craft book I’d call The Book of Because.
Q: It sounds like this time away from corporate life has helped you reconnect with yourself.
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Emily: It has. It’s surreal but good. I’m more in tune with my body now. When I worked in tech, I was so anxious any time I was away from my desk, I lost who I was as a person. Now, I am much more in tune with myself. I can tell when I need to get up, go outside, take a walk. It’s a big shift from sitting at a desk for 10 hours straight.
Q: Are you planning to go back to office work?
Emily: I’ve applied for a city dispatcher job. I’m nervous about being in front of a screen again—it’s triggering—but I can’t afford not to take it. My boyfriend’s been incredibly supportive, but I want to be able to contribute again.
Still, I’ve learned I need to work with my hands. There’s something satisfying about seeing immediate results—building a display, cleaning a space, fixing something. In tech, your “impact” is numbers on a dashboard; in retail, it’s right in front of you.
Q: Do you have a plan in place to help you not succumb to screen-related anxiety again if you take this dispatcher role?
Emily: If I wind up as a dispatcher, I’m going to buy a treadmill first thing because walking helps. Basically, I need to put in a bunch of safeguards, so I don’t panic myself to death again.
Q: Has your relationship with money changed through all this?
Emily: Definitely. I’m living on a tight budget, and it’s made me realize how little I actually need to be content. The happiest I’ve ever been was during my first semester of college—I was broke, but free. I spent days reading, crafting, making things just because I wanted to. I’m finding my way back to that version of myself.
Q: What advice would you give to someone who’s just lost their job?
Emily: You are not your job. The person you are—the one who exists when no one’s watching—is who you really serve. Take care of that person.
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If you’re inspired to share your own story, I’d love to hear it. You can send me a DM on LinkedIn or reach out here to arrange a time to talk.
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