Kathy Caprino was laid off from her well-paying, high-powered position and has some words of insight others might not expect: She says it was the best thing that ever happened to her.

"It was very demoralizing," Caprino says. "For a week after I lost my job I still got up every morning and put on my suit and left the house. I just drove around all day. I didn't know who I was."

So why does Caprino feel so great about what happened?

"I hated who I had become," she says. "I was angry and hostile and chronically sick all the time. I went into therapy, and discovered that I could choose the next chapter of my life."

Caprino, who lost her job a week after 9/11, says that she decided to go back to school and become a psychotherapist. Now running her own business, she is an executive coach, consultant and speaker, and says that for the first time she is truly happy and satisfied with what she is doing for a living.

"There are hundreds of women right now who are as broken down as I was," Caprino says. "They are being laid off, and it's a real wake-up call for them. When something bad happens, it's time to assess whether you're really aligned with it."

For Caprino, she found that her unemployment helped her see that she was in "professional hell" and a "20-year trance" where she realized that doing what she believed was the right thing for money, security and safety had led to a blind commitment that "had stolen my life away."

In her new book, Breakdown, Breakthrough: The Professional Woman's Guide to Claiming a Life of Passion, Power, and Purpose (Berrett-Koehler, $16.95), Caprino notes that seven out of 10 working women report that they are facing a major turning point in their careers, especially middle-age women.

"I started hearing the same thing over and over when I was talking to women," she says. "They feel broken down and disempowered, much as I did."

Caprino notes that her findings helped her identify many common crises of professional women, including:

Struggling to balance work and home » The women Caprino interviewed said they couldn't balance all the demands, and felt like they were letting down who and what mattered most. She says she fully understands the sentiment. "I had two great kids and was married to a wonderful person. I didn't understand how one area could be so good and the other [work] be so bad," she says. "How could a functional, intelligent person let this happen?"

Facing abuse or mistreatment » "I had been a victim of discrimination and sexual harassment in my career," she says. "Women can be treated badly at work and choose to stay. Many experience fear and worry over speaking up for themselves."

Suffering chronic health problems » "The body is communicating what the lips are not," Caprino says, nothing that she suffered from tracheitis, an infection of the trachea that can cause symptoms ranging from a deep cough to chest pain to difficulty breathing. She says her condition disappeared the day she walked out the door of her last corporate job and chose a new path for herself.

Doing work they hate » "I went to a career coach after I lost my job and paid him $800 to tell me that I was in the perfect job for me. I wanted to stab myself in the eye," she says. Instead, it was a friend who helped Caprino by telling her that "I love you dearly, but you're always unhappy." That's when Caprino started really thinking about her life differently and what kind of work would make her happy.

Feeling trapped by financial fears » "I see people lose their jobs and they just glom onto the first thing that comes along, which is a big mistake," she says. "Focusing solely on your lack of money will lead to being driven by fear, worry and self-doubt."

Caprino is the first to admit that losing a job can be life altering, but she wants people --- especially women -- to understand that it can also be a way to change their lives for the better.

"My prayer is that this is a wake-up call," she says. "Find out what's inside you. You have dreams and goals, so don't assume that a certain job is your role and nothing else. Say 'yes' to honoring yourself and make your dreams come true."

Anita Bruzzese can be reached c/o Business Editor, Gannett News Service, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Va 22107.