I quit this job a year and a half ago and I got this email a couple of weeks ago from my former boss. I don't know what to say.

So I worked at this company for 6 months and my boss was really hard to work with. I was hired for an assistant position, but she was the head of accounting (and in line to run the whole company) and I didn’t have an accounting background. She expected me to do accounting work, but it was difficult for me because there was no real structure or routine and she was terrible at training. I’m a fast learner but I struggled because everything seemed like a gray area and there was no one besides her that I could really ask for help.

I have pretty bad anxiety and supposedly I have OCD, so I was really struggling with the job mentally. I was second guessing everything I was doing and my anxiety built up to the point where I was just like, I can’t. I ended up leaving for lunch one day and going to my car, drafting a letter of resignation where I listed my issues. I tried to be professional, but I didn’t hold back and I accepted the fact that I was likely burning a bridge. I sent her the email and left and never went back.

I ended up back at my previous job where I enjoyed the people and the work I was doing, but unfortunately it wasn’t a full-time permanent position and there were no benefits (which was why I had left in the first place). I tried really hard to get hired there full-time but ultimately I was let go at the beginning of October because there simply wasn’t enough work to justify keeping me.

I haven’t had any luck with finding a new job. The job market where I am is terrible and I was really wanting to get a state job for the benefits and security, but it looks like it takes months for that to happen.

Then I got this email from my former boss. I was shocked. Like I said, I knew I was burning a bridge by the way I resigned.

I feel like I need to accept this job. I am in a better place mentally and my psychiatrist and I think that I am actually autistic and have ADHD but I can’t get tested for those things right now because I don’t have health insurance. I think I was misdiagnosed with OCD and I am leaning into the autism and ADHD thing and things are making a lot more sense for me and I feel like I’m in a better place to handle this job. It has really really good benefits (and I desperately need that health insurance) and they do treat their employees really well and I feel like if I had been in a different position within the company, I would have stayed there for a lot longer. I am also wanting to eventually move out of state once I have enough money saved (probably in 2 years or so). No, this is not my dream job but I do feel like I can handle it knowing that I have a goal to work towards and knowing that the job isn’t going to be long-term.

I have no idea how to respond to this email saying that I am available for work and yes, I would like to try again. I will need higher compensation because 1)cost of living/inflation and 2)because I know how difficult that job is. What should I say? My anxiety has me freezing up in this situation and I’ve already let a couple of weeks go by without responding to her.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I don’t really have anyone else to ask.