I worked a retail gig for a little over three years. As those jobs go, it was actually all right; I was good at it and got promoted from cashier to department head fairly quickly. Of course I was at work absolutely all the time. No social life, no self-care, exhausted, somehow still no money. See where I'm going? I just couldn't do it anymore.
What I noticed immediately after I left was that I had no idea how to be out in the world. I couldn't remember how to conduct a conversation that wasn't about work. I'd go grocery shopping and front the wine shelf out of habit. I'd get nervous standing around talking to my friends waiting for somebody to yell at us to get back out on the floor. That kind of thing.
Has anyone else had that happen?