Yea, I went back to work a few years ago, just before Covid started. No regrets.
1. I can leave anytime. I didn't go back because I *had* to I went back because a neat opportunity came along. I thought I'd do two years and it's been 3 as of this month, and I don't at all feel like I need to stop again soon. I still feel almost as good as when I started, there's a little breakage, but I truly feel that's Covid and not the working.
2. Covid happened and so work from home became a thing, which it turns out, the only thing I really didn't like about work was how inefficient it was to travel there, do the work, waste time in between tasks doing stupid busywork type bullshit, then travel back home. Now work is, sit down and do a thing I sorta like doing, then take a break whenever I want to do whatever I want, cook myself healthy meals still, etc. There are days where I wish I was still retired but it's not even one in twenty.
3. The Covid period taught me that while I'm fine being retired in a sort of super-efficient bare-bones way, I really liked being able to offer financial support to friends and family going through a totally shit time that's not really their fault. So working lets me be charitable in a way I don't mind, to an extent I wouldn't as a retiree. Sure as a retiree I could go over to your house and watch your kids, and that might be fine once or twice, but now I can just pay for the damn babysitter, which I much prefer. Cause I 100% wouldn't volunteer my time as a retiree, I know for sure, and I would also feel guilty about that. So padding the retirement account is going to buy me out of that. Also Neat. Nonsensical. Things. I wouldn't justify as a retiree, like my house I'm designing that's too small for a family of 5 (convenient as I don't have that) and so not available on the market at all. It's going to cost me at least a half mil to build it, and it's horrifically stupid from a financial sense to do it, but I want secret passages, dammit.
4. The 14 months of retirement I had gave me the surety to not tolerate nonsense with employers. I just skip the "mandatory training." I fuckin' walk out of meetings that should've been an email. I bounce emails sent to me by others at the company that are "will you please do my job for me". Lol: nope. I'm unconcerned with anyone's perception of how good a job I'm doing, I just focus on being satisfied for myself that I'm doing a good job. And a weird "Office Space" style thing happened where my employer seems to like me more the more honest I am about what I am willing to do. I tell the truth now, regardless of what I think my employer wants to hear, and as it turns out, the truth is appreciated.
I wouldn't have anxiety about going back to work. There's no hurry is the first thing. If you think you don't have enough money to last forever, you probably have enough money to last a fucking long time. So you have time to find a GREAT job with GREAT people on GREAT terms. Or youtube yourself trying and apparently make 85k a year from it? Kids these days.
At this point I'm 100% on board with recommending a gap year to anyone that's legit miserable at work. Quit on your shit boss. Yesterday. Take a year off, sleep, exercise, heal, rest, reflect, then go find that part-time job or w/e until your impressive savings compound their way to being done.