Welcome to PC. I had problems big with anxiety in 2000 when I came out of graduate school and took a higher level job. I took some time off work but was able to return and have worked since then with the exception of a little break recently when we moved. I stayed in my own field when I went back to work but I returned to a less stressful position and then gradually worked my way back to a job equal to the one I left in 2000.

After all these years, I've (mostly) come to terms with the fact that my anxiety won't ever be 'cured' but I am managing it and functioning well. It has taken a lot of effort - mostly counseling and a support group/mentor who has been there also.

I hear your concern about your wife and a potential cut in salary but having some job is better than none at all or one you don't feel good about and if you discover you love IT work, the better income will ultimately come b/c you will be good at it.

Or maybe it isn't the job itself that is the issue but your belief about your competence to do the job. That is what I learned about myself through my struggles ... I didn't believe I was smart/good enough but I finally, for the most part, slayed that dragon.

There is nothing 'wrong' with you just there is nothing 'wrong' with me. We are just having/have had human experiences that are uncomfortable and need some tending to - for me it is usually an adjustment in my thinking errors!