Hello John Smith111: Welcome to PsychCentral! I'm sorry you are experiencing such difficulty. Of course, not knowing the details of what occurred, it is hard to say much of anything very specific. It does seem as though there would be a difference between making an honest mistake on the one hand (even if one should have known better), & intentionally trying to deceive. An honest mistake with regard to which one should have known better may get one reprimanded or even fired. But it is not a criminal act.

Still, these sorts of experiences can haunt a person long after they are over-&-done with. I've had a bit of experience with this. What I try to do is to simply allow these kinds of thoughts to come up as they will. I smile to them & breathe into them. Sometimes I will place my hand over my heart as a sign of compassion for them. They are only thoughts. They have no power over me beyond what I cede them. They also have no connection to what may or may not come to pass, in real life. They only foment worry & stress.

It may, I would presume, also be beneficial to talk this experience through with someone. So if you are not currently seeing a therapist, it may be useful for you to seek one out both in order to resolve your feelings regarding this particular incident, but also just in order to help you manage your OCD-like thought patterns in general.

My best wishes to you...