Honestly? Unless you have your exit pretty well hammered down, you should try to save your job, even if that means having uncomfortable conversations or going over your boss's head. You say that your friends have "enough extra work to keep [you] busy". Try to get something in writing before jumping ship. "I'll send work your way" from a well-intended friend is not a guarantee.
The economy really sucks right now. Unless you have a guarantee of income (e.g. letter of employment) you should do whatever you can to save your job. Talk to your boss about the issue, and if he doesn't make things better, talk to your boss's boss. Insecure middle managers love to pull shit like bait-and-switch, but somewhere up the food chain, there is someone who would not want this to happen to a talented person (either that, or you're at a shitbag company) and you just have to find him. Now is the time to work aggressively to repair the situation-- the worst that can happen is that you get fired, but in that case you get severance and unemployment, as opposed to the $0.00 you get if you quit.
Regarding depression, it's probably not just your job. I love what I do and I'm bordering on clinical depression right now; the fact that my career could easily go to hell (something statistically impossible two years ago) and that society might collapse, although neither is likely, doesn't lead to happy thoughts.
The economy really sucks right now. Unless you have a guarantee of income (e.g. letter of employment) you should do whatever you can to save your job. Talk to your boss about the issue, and if he doesn't make things better, talk to your boss's boss. Insecure middle managers love to pull shit like bait-and-switch, but somewhere up the food chain, there is someone who would not want this to happen to a talented person (either that, or you're at a shitbag company) and you just have to find him. Now is the time to work aggressively to repair the situation-- the worst that can happen is that you get fired, but in that case you get severance and unemployment, as opposed to the $0.00 you get if you quit.
Regarding depression, it's probably not just your job. I love what I do and I'm bordering on clinical depression right now; the fact that my career could easily go to hell (something statistically impossible two years ago) and that society might collapse, although neither is likely, doesn't lead to happy thoughts.