Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi,
I have only realised that I am on the autism spectrum later in life as an adult (I am 56) and realising that there maybe ways I could help myself when I feel overwhlemed with things that happen in the worlplace.
When I make a mistake at work I feel as if it is the end of the world and struggle to concentrate on anything else until it has been sorted. Until it has been respolved I feel like a fraud when I meet with anyone who doesn't know the situation and that I am pretending that everything is okay.
Does anyone else know how this feels and do you have any suggestions for why I might feel like this, and how to change what I am feeling or cope with it? My recent mistake has been firmly but politely pointed out via a message, and noone is shouting at me or getting angry, but this strength of internal response is how I usually feel to any mistake.
Thank you,
Yasmin
Thank you - I have heard about this kind of working document so good to know they are useful.
Best Wishes,
Hi Ellie,
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know how you feel and that you can relate to my reactions. thanks also for your great suggestions, I especially like the idea of taking time to refocus, and also not to read messages when I am not at work.
Very Best Wishes,
Hi Yasmin,
I too am very, very hard on myself if I make a mistake. I feel extremely stupid and very guilty.
In my company we each have a 'How to Work Wih Me' document that are saved in a public folder. This way we can read up on someones communication/feedback styles when we work with them. I'd say this is really beneficial and could be a good thing to include at your work. Maybe the message they sent you about your mistake could have been worded or approached differently to make sure you took it in the best way possible? Just an idea. Chin up!
Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m 25 and i’m currently going through the process of getting a diagnosis but i’m only 3 years into my career and experience very similar issues.
Just last week I had the day off work and stupidly I checked my emails from home and had noticed an email from a college that pulled me up on an error i had made. I felt instantly unsettled and didn’t stop thinking about it all weekend. It was very minor issue but to me felt completely horrible and the end of the world so i sympathise with how you feel.
Although i’m still on a journey of working on this and learning to not take things like this personally or hold onto them over the weekend I do have some tips that help.
- Take a 5 min breather after reading something that makes you feel like this and then re-focus your attention once you have re-gained your thoughts
- Respond to the issue and try to be open, honest and clear about why what happened actually happened.
- Tell someone, reach out to a friend or family or even someone in your team and let them know X has happened and it’s made me feel incredibly anxious, is there a better way we can deal with issues or filter through updates like this differently?
Not much but hope those help a little as they have helped me!
Thanks,
Ellie