Looking at your description of your previous job, it didn't exactly seem like a good place to work... OK, that's an understatement. You're not an idiot for leaving an abusive employer; you would have been an idiot to stay there. I bet that in a few years, you will remember it as one of the best things you've ever done. It just doesn't feel that way right now, because quitting is only the first step you have to take to make things better.
It's not that easy to find a decent job, especially in this economy... so if all else fails, you will have to "bootstrap" yourself, get any old job (as others already pointed out), and buy yourself some time to figure out what you really want.
Parents can be notoriously annoying when it comes to things like this, but (in my experience) it's usually because they're worried. They only see part of the story; you had a (well-paying) job, then you quit, now you're broke, doesn't sound like a good decision, from their POV. When I lost my job long ago, my mom acted like it was the end of the world. (It's better than having a parent who doesn't care though.) But after a few months I found a job that was what I wanted to do (i.e., programming, in my case) and things got better from there.
A final thought: it's better to make this decision when you're 20, than when you're (say) 40 and have a mortgage, a family to support, etc.
It's not that easy to find a decent job, especially in this economy... so if all else fails, you will have to "bootstrap" yourself, get any old job (as others already pointed out), and buy yourself some time to figure out what you really want.
Parents can be notoriously annoying when it comes to things like this, but (in my experience) it's usually because they're worried. They only see part of the story; you had a (well-paying) job, then you quit, now you're broke, doesn't sound like a good decision, from their POV. When I lost my job long ago, my mom acted like it was the end of the world. (It's better than having a parent who doesn't care though.) But after a few months I found a job that was what I wanted to do (i.e., programming, in my case) and things got better from there.
A final thought: it's better to make this decision when you're 20, than when you're (say) 40 and have a mortgage, a family to support, etc.
Good luck.