First of all, I'm sorry this happened to you. Here are my thoughts on your question and my feedback to you. > How can I stay positive and avoid falling into a

First of all, I'm sorry this happened to you. Here are my thoughts on your question and my feedback to you. > How can I stay positive and avoid falling into a funk? Remind yourself that you did not fail. You weren't fired because you didn't work hard enough or do well enough. Being laid off doesn't mean you're less valuable or can't find a great job in the future. You can still use others from your previous job as references and put them on your resume. You don't have to worry about recruiters and managers asking why you're no longer with the company. > How can I justify the high cost of COBRA health insurance with limited funds so my high school teacher wife isn't burdened by my potential medical debt while being our sole provider?' Three words, "Qualifying life event". Because you're losing your current existing health coverage from your employer. Your wife's insurance can open a special enrollment period for her to sign up your family. You don't have much time, so you should start looking into that right away. > How do I fall asleep at night? This one I can't help much with this. The stress of all of this is high, and that's valid. But being tired the next day won't help you make the right decisions, and at 10pm, there's little you can do. Get some sleep, get up, and enjoy the time with your kids or go for a walk. Find an outlet. It could be returning to college, working on your degree, or collecting rocks. Just something to take your mind off everything. > Regarding Living In Rural Indiana and trying to find remote work. There are still quite a few remote jobs out there. Update your resume, and start applying through the myriad of job search sites. Reach out to your network and see if there's anyone hiring. I've found some of my favorite jobs through previous co-workers who have made it into hiring roles. I landed a job working remotely as a developer with only an associate's degree. Some of the smartest, most successful people have no degree. Our industry does favor a newly minted college student over a person who's maybe a year into their career with no degree but I feel with 20+ years of experience you're not going to be beat out by a brand new college student for a lot of jobs. Also, don't sell yourself short. Apply for the jobs you deserve, or might want to try. This is an opportunity for you to try something new, and if your options are make $15/hr at Taco Bell or $40/hr in a technical job that you might have otherwise not gone for because you were comfortable, this is a good opportunity. In the meantime look into unemployment to help cushion the financial blow. Good Luck!