Yep, catch 22, know exactly what you mean.

When I was unemployed for 5 weeks the beginning of this year it seemed like months.  I've never been unemployed for longer than 2 months in a row, but I'm one of those sorts of people who doesn't generally sit around and let the time pass by without noticing.  When you haven't got money to go out or buy things life does tend to grind to a halt, there's only so much you can do sat indoors.