This community helped me more than I expected (update)

I have read this forum every day since I lost my job. I would rather hear the honest version than the polite one. Two tips made a real difference: keeping a log and asking for help early. What would help newcomers most?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

Keep everything in writing and save the confirmation numbers. It saved me later.