I always have fears about getting fired from work and constantly rechecking my old work. I think about 24/7 and how im going to make an enormous mistake that ruins the company and gets me fired. Then, if any type of mistake does happen I let it ruin my day. Ill look back at the past mistake and beat myself up over it. Any suggestions for mindfulness approaches?
I have this fear as well of being fired and the complications of that. I feel the need to reread emails or IMs and I feel the need to make all my work perfect. I also seek feedback waaaay too much on my quality and if I’m keeping my job. Only thing that works for me is to just accept I’m enough and they hired me for a reason and to be thankful for a job in these crazy times.
i dont want to offer too much reassurance, but from someone whos seen this happen from the outside in real time, i can tell you its never as bad as it seems. i had this one coworker who was constantly stressed about being perfect to the point that it made him difficult to work with, but what he didnt know, is that people who did a 5th of the work he did didnt even come close to getting fired.
I can relate. The perfectionist in me wants my work to always be correct and free from any errors. The reality is though, that no one is perfect. No employer will hire someone who never makes an error, because that person doesn’t exist in the real world. It is admirable to want to do well at your job. Mistakes will happen from time to time and when they do it’s important to learn and move forward. What’s done is done. Looking back over past mistakes (ruminating) can draw you away from the present and get you stuck in the past. I’ll share with you something that I found during my journey to be very helpful….self-compassion ❤️ I strongly believe that self-compassion is the foundation upon which we can build/rebuild our framework. It’s important to be able to not beat up on ourselves for mistakes we have made and realize that we owe ourselves compassion just as we would give compassion to a friend undergoing the same circumstances. You can only control what is within your control. Please don’t try to take the world on your shoulders. Self-compassion is both a mindful and kindful approach ❤️
That’s one of the stories of my life
First, if you haven’t already sought help via NOCD free call, definitely try it. I thought my insurance wouldn’t cover it but when I called my insurance they surprised me and said they would!
Next, between now and the next appointment, I would perhaps try the “reasonability” approach. Essentially, I would say to myself, “What would be the response given by the average reasonable person?” And then, “Is that response reasonable to do or follow?”
I can totally relate. I have perfectionism and people pleasing difficulties that are tied to my OCD and PTSD. As someone said above, they hired you for a reason. I know it’s hard to not ask for someone to check your work over and over, or seek reassurance that you are doing good work. I struggle with that as well, and it leads to a spiral of feeling like I’m being a burden, annoying, or difficult to work with. I also agree with the above that there are people doing far less than you I’m sure. We are human and we make mistakes. No one is going to do work at 100% capacity every day— just not realistic. Give yourself grace if you make a mistake and try to have reasonable expectations for yourself. I know that’s hard! I have difficulty having realistic expectations for myself as well. I’m a supervisor at work, and I try to remind myself of how I would react to one of my staff if they would make a mistake. It happens. Try to be kind to yourself 💖
My last and almost life long theme/sub-theme largely subsided recently and my ocd felt like it wasn’t even an issue. Then I went on winter break from uni and being alone made my mind come up with a whole new topic to obsess over. TLDR on my fears, my advisor wouldn’t email me back for a while about signing up for classes so my mind started to worry “what if he doesn’t in time and you can’t enroll this semester and you lose this whole life you just built and all these new friends” So when that issue was resolved my mind found other scarier ways I could be uprooted from my current life and friends that I’ve grown so attached to. Then my mind remembered back when I was struggling with false memories and scrupulosity and I essentially made a post on a forum 2 and a half years ago saying I did something or was convinced I did something that I never actually did. Now I’ve been spiraling about someone finding it reporting me and I either get seen as a horrible person or arrested or something over something I never actually did but “admitted” to out of fear of going to hell. My mind won’t let it go and keeps finding new reasons for it to be “valid” “logical” or even inevitable. I feel like it’s just hanging over my head and I can never rest easy. Especially when I try to focus on my daily tasks or plan for the future I get this horrible flair up of “why plan for the future when this could come back in that future and you get uprooted from all of it” my mind won’t rest without certainty being uprooted won’t happen but certainty doesn’t exist, at least not with ocd. This sucks and I miss being care free.
I feel like my job triggers a lot of how im feeling. Im now a manager and the stress of it really causes my thoughts to convince me that I am worthless and all of the customers and my staff hate me
Hi! I’m new to the NOCD community, but I’ve been dealing with OCD since I was 12. I’m almost 29 now, and my biggest issue is health anxiety. It’s gotten to the point where getting work done is nearly impossible because i can’t stop spiraling. I’m lucky that i work remotely, but also makes it easier to be in my own head… Asking for advice - how do you all deal with the intense anxiety and are able to make it through a 9-5 work day? Any suggestions on how I can actually be productive? Thank you!
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