How to respond to former colleagues without igniting them

[ZML]

Ok i have been unemployed for about 9 months now after having been bullied by the manager. Couldn’t cope with his behaviour anymore.

Kept away from my colleagues who all missed me. Now they are starting to message me. I feel ashamed for not being able to secure permanent employment. Did a two week temp assignment. I know the job market is shit. A couple of them thought I was crazy for leaving without a job.

It was retail I left and want to go back to customer service or admin - jobs I had before the retail job 14 years before.

Im scared of what to reply with. I don’t want to be shot down by flames.

i tell you something if that manager never became my manager, I would be working and not be in my stir crazy world. I am not going back to retail as hated it so much. I’m fine with customer service and support etc.

Have had suicidal thoughts in my head the other day

There's no shame in not having found a job yet. The job market is awful currently.
Have you asked your UC coach for support and contacted job agencies?
Can you try to find a part time retail job temporarily (maybe 2 days a week) whilst looking for another job to help with the CV gap? Or if that's not possible maybe volunteering somewhere to get a recent reference and help with you getting back into society again.

You've done what's necessary for your mental health, if the suicidal thoughts happen again contact your GP and remember this will all be a distant memory down the line.

You can either reply to the messages with the truth, or say you're doing a WFH call center job if you're embarrassed, or just not reply. Do whatever is best for your mental health.

Just reply that it's lovely to hear from them. You've had to focus on your mental health so haven't been/aren't that active on social media or message and are looking for a job that will not add to your issues. Thanks for checking in...

You can say you're having a break from work to focus on your mental health.

Well done you for getting out of a toxic work environment. It’s a shame the job market is so tough.
I don’t think I would say I’d left for MH reasons. Unless I was subject to some severance where I couldn’t tell the truth I’d be inclined to say ‘sadly the work environment was not suitable or a good fit for me, but I am looking for roles in xyz - might you have any leads?’