I am not sure what to call this thread, but I bet a lot of people have a similar problem.

TL; DR: How did you get over your fear of working after working with very abusive people?

My second to last job was an awful experience. For three years I had an extremely controlling and abusive boss who blamed me for everything that went wrong. My last year with the company I had a different boss who turned out to be even worse in some ways. It took me at least a year before I woke up in the morning remembering that I didn't have to panic because I didn't have to go back there. It took several years before I even drove by the building - and I still don't like to do it.

I had a conversation with someone this morning who also worked at this place and who had a similar experience. She told me that she still finds herself second guessing what she says as a result of the years of put downs she endured.

Have other people successfully dealt with this issue? Just the thought of going back to that kind of work makes me anxious. I would leave the industry if I could get paid as much doing something else. I can't tell how much of it is burn-out vs. that horrible job vs a genuine lack of interest.