The horror of messing up, publicly
Today at work, in a big meeting, I was called out when a help article I wrote was found to be incorrect. I turned bright red, my stomach dropped, and I had to struggle through intense embarrassment and apologize in front of everyone.
I don't know if this happens to other audhders but I absolutely cannot process when I've fucked up and others see it. In fact, I'm writing this post approx 12 hours after the incident, in the middle of the night, after waking up in a cold sweat. All of the years of coping mechanisms I've learned in therapy go out the window and I absolutely panic. I can't deal with the intense shame and fear from being wrong. Maybe it's autisms need for order and correctness, and adhds fear of being ridiculed for not understanding?
You see, I can rationalize that I'm only human and that humans make mistakes and it wasn't intentional on my part, etc, etc... but that won't stop me from obsessing and ruminating for the next foreseeable future. How can I move on more quickly and forgive myself when I mess up?
Posted Dec 11, 2025, 9:40 AM UTC