Ventingisfun's journey

I recently filed for unemployment benefits in Florida after being laid off from my job as a marketing coordinator. Since then, I've been feeling anxious about potential retaliation from my former employer. I overheard some colleagues mention that management might not take kindly to those who file for unemployment. I'm worried about how this could affect my future job prospects, especially if I need to use them as a reference. Has anyone else experienced something similar? How did you handle it?