... so really I consider this "2nd" job my first true job experience coming out of college. I was there almost 7 years and it was absolute *misery* the entire time for a number of reasons. Most of the misery can be boiled down to this job being a very Office Space-esque situation, where no matter how well I performed or how much I felt I was proving myself more than capable of doing the job, I still always had 8-10 people breathing down my neck about every single decision I made and every project I submitted. It was *brutal*.

It was also the type of environment where you'd hear about it if you were 2 minutes over an hour at lunch. No joke. They'd pretend they were just busting balls but it was clear they were serious about watching your every move.

I've had two jobs since then and yes - the PTSD is really real, but it subsides quickly. I still think about that first job, but after like two months at my last job (the one I had after the miserable job), I think about it in this context: if something at my last job or my current job comes up that seems like something I should be pissed about or complain about, I immediately frame it w/the perspective of what I experienced @ that 1st job, and only *then* do I decide whether or not the current situation is worth escalating or bitching about vocally.

So while the first job was absolutely terrible, it paid well and was a stepping stone to where I am now and where I can go in the future, which in some twisted way I'm pretty thankful for. But probably more importantly, it also offers me that important perspective mentioned above, something I'm not sure that everyone has. For example there are colleagues @ my current job who complain a lot. And all the while I'm thinking, "you have no idea how good you have it." Haha.

Anyway - like I said, as someone who experienced something very similar to what you seem to be experiencing/what you describe, it doesn't take long to realize how much better your current situation is than your last one was. (That's obviously assuming your new situation *is*, in fact, better. So the PTSD, at least for me, subsided quickly. And assuming this new gig is as you describe, it should for you, too. And you'll have unique perspective going forward.

Good luck to you.