1 definition by Ergon Communications

The term Emotional Rollercoaster was coined by Dr. N. Amundson in dealing with unemployment, first in a research article: Amundson, N.E., & Borgen, W. (1982). The dynamics of unemployment: Job loss and job search. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 60, 562-564. It was most likely made popular when Nelson Canada published their booklet At the Controls:Charting your course through unemployment in 1987. Approximately 960,000 copies of this book were bought by the Gov't of Canada and distributed to people dealing with unemployment between 1987 and 1996.
"Shock! Relief! Sadness! Excitement! Frustration! Lack of energy! Hopelessness! Determination! People feel many different emotions when they are out of work. these feelings may be a bit different from one person to another depending on how you lost your job, how long you have been out of work, your future possibilities, and whether you can provide for your family or others who depend on you.

However, many of the unemployed people we talked with described similar patterns of emotions. They described these feelings as an "emotional rollercoaster" that kept them off balance… " (Amundson and Borgen, At the Controls, 1987)
by Ergon Communications February 2, 2013
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