Unemployment is killing me

I started life earlier than most people. Out of necessity I entered the work force early as well. From the age of fifteen and until I became of legal age the jobs available to a ninth grade drop out were few. Work choices consisted of motel maid or waitress work. As soon as I turned eighteen(the legal age at that time) I started working as a cashier for convenience stores a job I excelled at moving up the ladder to store manager. I was content with my chosen profession for years. In 1986 I finally took a GED test on a whim and passed. This rekindled my long dormant love of academia so I began taking random classes. I completed a real estate course and got my license. I took a substitute teaching course and worked for the local school district for a year. During that year I started taking classes in early childhood education and began working in the preschool system. All of this is to say I have a wide array of skills that I should be able to rely on to secure a job. And yet here I sit unemployed and apparently unemployable.

Just to clarify I apply for jobs any job in any field where I have some experience. I apply online and in person and sometimes I get an interview though not often. I tell myself that there are so many people with more education. So I have enrolled in college to correct the problem and believe it or not that prompts questions like can you work and go to college. I honestly thought it would be a plus, but sadly that is not the case. Now I am at the point of wondering if I will ever have a job again.

Is it my age I am 50 after all? Are my past employers secretly tell tales on me? I mean I still communicate with the management of the most recent jobs and I can not imagine they give bad reviews. Am I just being paranoid or is the market really that bad? I do not have the answers if I did I would have a job. What I do know is that not having one is stressing me to the point of illness. I feel physically sick every time I search, apply, or interview for a job. The dread of rejection is sickening.