Losing your job, especially during the holidays, can be a traumatic experience. Often the stress that comes from a sudden or unexpected job loss extends beyond the pocketbook, affecting your mood, self-esteem and personal relationships.

With the recent announcements of job-cut announcements -- including CanadaPost, BlackBerry, Kellogg’s, Heinz, and Novartis, to name a few -- many Canadians are feeling the strain of unemployment.

Experts say coping with job loss during this time of the year can be overwhelming.

The tremendous financial uncertainty that comes with unemployment, coupled with the pressure to "be happy" and take part in festive activities, can put a damper on the holiday spirit. So stop for a moment. Breathe. Here are four tips on how to cope with job loss during the holidays:

1. Create a daily schedule

Coping with unemployment can be similar to surviving other types of major loss or life changes. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, when a person loses their job, they often also lose their work relationships, sense of self-purpose and daily structure.

"You're going to come home and feel victimized. You're going to go through a process of anger, just as some people do when they learn they have a serious illness," Bill Wilkerson, co-founder of Mental Health International, told CTVNews.ca.

To keep your anxiety levels down, CAMH suggests creating a daily schedule that includes a set time for job-search activities. Job searchers should also set daily achievable goals and stay active by volunteering or exercising.

2. Be prepared to handle relatives and other well-meaning individuals

It's the perennial cocktail party question: "So what are you doing now?" That question can be even more annoying when you're in between jobs.

While relatives and friends can play an important role in your job hunt, through networking, Wilkerson said it's important to create boundaries and have a stock answer prepared. "The tendency of many people is to go into a grieving state and start saying to the person who has lost their job how terrible this is … and that doesn't always help."

When it comes to young children, Wilkerson suggests waiting until after the holidays to break the news. "Kids won't know how to correlate (unemployment) with presents and other happy things." With older children and adolescents, Wilkerson said parents can be more forthcoming and share plans on what the next steps are. "The first question kids ask is: 'What happens next?'" Wilkerson said parents should try, if possible, to paint a realistic but hopeful and encouraging picture of the future.

3. Don't stop your job search

Although the number of job postings tends to dry up this time of the year, industry experts say it's important to keep the job search momentum going.

Job searchers should lay the groundwork during the holidays to see what type of positions may be available in the New Year, Eileen Chadnick, a professional employement/life coach told CTVNews.ca

"It's always good practice to keep an eye open and look. There are lots of ways to do that, either (through) LinkedIn or online searches."

And while searching for jobs, Chadnick said it's important to keep a positive outlook. "One of the most important things people overlook is resilience. People tend to focus on the mechanics of job searching but they also need to find ways to stay resilient and seek a support network."

4. Increase your social capital

Experts say we should be networking all the time – and that also includes schmoozing at holiday parties.

While inquiring about job vacancies at a family get-together might be considered a social faux-pas, Anil Verma, the director for the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, says we should always be looking for opportunities to establish professional relationships with people.

"The key is to network effectively. You don't go to a Christmas party and say to someone 'oh, you work for the government?' That would be a non-starter. What you should do is find a way to connect and identify common interests."