I'd say your first priority should be getting well and stabalized - even if that means giving yourself permission to not sweat job hunting for a couple of months and just focus on you.

Next I'd look at your last employer and what they're going to say about references. I was fired from my last job due to my drinking. This is illegal, but they claimed cause (missed time even though I called in every day), but they wound up giving me a really good severence package so that I'd go away quietly. I negotiated that they'd give me a good reference and say I left voluntarily for personal reasons. I found out after the fact that my boss even lied on my references for my current job, in my favour, saying I'd left because I wasn't sufficiently challenged.

It took me a long time to get my life back together, between dealing with the drinking and MH issues so all together I was unemployed for 15 months. I was really worried about the gap on my resume, so I was proactive about it. When asked I said I'd taken a personal sabatical after having worked full time since university, and I had felt I needed a break. When asked what I'd done, I said reconnected with family and friends, and explored my own interests. So it is possible to get back into the workforce after a break.

I'm an accountant too, and I seriously considered temping towards the end of my 15 months off, I was running out of money, and more importantly I was bored. Do you have Robert Half in your part of the country? They can be good for temp assignements once your insurance runs out.

Hang in there and remember that for you your focus should be on you and getting well.

--splitimage