How do I cope with feeling lost after leaving the military?

You left a world with clear rules, clear rank, and a clear mission, and stepped into one that has none of that laid out for you. Of course you feel lost. This is one of the hardest changes a person can make, and nearly every veteran feels adrift at the start. The feeling is not failure. It is the size of the shift you are living through. The civilian world runs on different signals than the ones you mastered, and it takes time to learn them. Be patient with yourself the way you would be with any recruit learning a new system. You do not have to have it figured out this month. You only have to keep learning the ground, one piece at a time. Do not try to cross this alone. Find other veterans who have made the same move. They understand what civilians cannot, and they can show you the paths that worked. Reach out, even when the instinct is to tough it out in silence. You were never meant to do the hard things without your people, and that has not changed.