A freelancer I had never worked with before reached out to me during the holidays.

We had never spoken.
We had only crossed paths on LinkedIn.

He wrote because he had to talk.
He said he felt like he was losing his grip.

Two days before Christmas,
a major project was cancelled.

Confirmed.
Planned.
Counted on.

Then suddenly gone.

No conflict.
No warning.
Just a short message about “a change in direction.”

The holiday arrived,
but his body was still on alert.

Family time,
with a tight chest.
Time off,
filled with constant calculations.

The project wasn’t just work.

It was January' paycheck.
It was stability.
It was the reason the holiday had felt safe.

When it disappeared,
the sense of safety went with it.

These are the moments with no answers yet.
No clear next step.
No immediate solution.

What makes the difference
is not having the answers
but not being alone inside the uncertainty.

Lately, more freelancers have been reaching out during moments like this.

Not to ask for advice.
Just to be witnessed.

I’m grateful this space makes that possible.

From a psychological perspective, sudden loss is often harder to process than gradual strain.
When stability disappears without warning, the nervous system doesn’t have time to adapt. It moves straight into threat mode.

For freelancers, projects don’t only represent income.
They represent future safety - the ability to rest, to plan, to exhale.
When that future collapses abruptly, the body reacts long before the mind can make sense of it.

This is another quiet pathway into freelance anxiety and burnout.
Not through overload,
but through the sudden removal of ground that once felt solid.