And people don't go to jail for forgetting a cable bill That's because our society doesn't think it's that awful a thing to do.

It's OK, most people have done it at some point. Isn't it possible that whoever collected the bills thought "Oh, that's a bummer they forgot." Or this just went into some computer and no one thought anything of it at all?

I used to be convinced that every time I made a minor mistake or screwed something up everyone involved knew what I knew: that I was a disappointment. For example, I told my therapist once that my professors likely realized that I finished writing the paper 5 minutes before deadline. They awarded a decent grade out of pity/because everyone else screwed up too. She said, "That's what your professors are thinking about? They're putting up a photo of you on the bulletin board in the staff room as we speak, 'Girl who wrote paper last-minute.'" It's silly, but it worked.

They put up a copy in corporate headquarters of your bill with your name next to it, in big letters: "Delinquent, no-good, entitled customer." Right?

It sounds to me that you have strong feelings about making payments on time and you have disappointed yourself. This is a good character trait but you're being too harsh. And those people at your cable company aren't disappointed in you.

Try to imagine your friend paid a bill and it didn't go through. Or forgot to pay it. Would you really think much less of them?