[STLCajun]

Went through this a few years ago. My wife and I were having some hard times, and my marriage was right on the verge of falling apart. It affected everything in my life, and I just lost all focus for a few months. My performance sagged, projects fell behind. I knew this, and actually talked to my direct manager, and he said it wasn't a problem... at least until upper management realized and it became a problem. I got let go, and honest to god, it was probably one of the best things that happened to me. The work stress that I'd been feeling for months lifted, I was able to spend a little while focusing on my marriage (still together happily). I had many interviews, and was pretty much given the choice of the jobs I wanted. Within a month, I was fully employed and much happier with my new gig.

As for what I'd do differently, I would have tried to have more in savings. Would have been nice to have something to fall back on. Especially since at the time my wife was going through a career change as well.

The dread... I'm not sure what worried me more: my career failing, or my marriage failing. I think it was mostly the latter, and it felt I could do nothing right. Career-wise, I knew the writing was on the wall, I just tried keeping my chin up until I found myself hopelessly underwater and being flushed out. After that... things just got better. Probably not the norm, but it was in my case.

No real family support. My wife and I were both unemployed at the same time, and we were considered the safety net for everyone else in the family. We just cut the budget to pure necessities, and held on for dear life. Thankfully, it was a very short ride, and both of us found employment in weeks, and not months or years.

As for the change in management attitude, the only person I really talked to was my direct manager. I got small hints in the days before it happened that something was up, but no one told me outright, or acted any differently. The day of, I was just pulled into a room and told my services were no longer needed.

As for keeping the role on the resume, I'd say absolutely. You're going to get more questions about a "blank" than you will about a short gig.

Hope this helps, and good luck on your future endeavours!