You can think of it as a pay cut or, assuming your getting valuable skills in the new job, you could treat it as getting paid to go to school i.e. making an investment in your career. LIFE IS EXTREMELY BRIEF. It really is worth the effort to find a job you like.
Another way to make that sort of money is contracting. You get to pick your own projects and if the project isn't working out for you, you know it won't last long before you're doing something new someplace else. In my experience, the biggest problem was lack of exposure to colleagues I could learn from. I was usually hired because they didn't have my expertise in-house and I did most of my work from home.
One of the things to also consider is where you live and if you're effected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), which is a form of depression. It sounds like there's more going on than just your job, and you have to consider if your feeling about things have changed during the Winter.
It may be worth the effort of focusing on ways to improve your mood by exercising and spending time with friends to get you to a better state. That will let you think more clearly, have more energy for side projects, and seek out new employment or go out on your own.
There's usually a lot more going on with our mood than we initially think.
You're throwing around huge figures there. I'd be over the moon just to have my pay at 20k, or to even get a bonus. Of course I would be furious to take a pay-cut.
Try and remember that people are out there earning far less than you are. It might even make you feel better. Crevecoeur puts it well:
>It is strange that misery, when viewed in others, should become to us a sort of real good
If you're earning as much as you say I really can't fathom how you can be miserable. Perhaps a hobby or some fresh air would do you good.
I think you basically just described my situation at my last job. I was making good money but I hated the people I worked with and was generally not happy. I was laid off from that job last year and have been freelancing since.
Being laid off caused me to pursue freelance more seriously and made us realize how excessive we were living. We cut back on wasting a lot of money on everything from going out to eat to movie rentals, to buying garbage we didn't need.
Because I was unhappy, I felt like I was dieing at my old job; like the world was passing me by. I was there for almost 8 years...
If you can take a pay cut and be happier somewhere else, I'd say do it. Money is not everything. I'd say learn some new things on the side and pad your resume a bit. Maybe it helps you get a job you do like with the same pay your accustomed to.
Money is a tough thing to figure out. We all want to get paid our value, but living expenses, family, kids, retirement all come into play.