The fear of getting fired has colored everything I do at work. I look for evidence that I'll soon be fired. Any little thing I do wrong is a cause for alarm. I know it's not possible to be perfect, but I have this idea that if I'm not nearly perfect, I'll be fired.

It stems from my mom's extreme fear of being fired even though she never has. If I tell her something about work, she twists it to mean that I'll get fired. It's hard hearing that come from the one person in your life who is supposed to be supportive. It also stems from the fact that one time I was suddenly forced to resign and the employer couldn't give me a good reason why.

My manager sent me a long list of things I've done wrong over the past six months. It scared the sh** out of me. I asked her if my job is in jeopardy and she said "No, I don't think so. I'm not getting ready to put you on corrective action." That answer "I don't think so" wasn't definitive enough for me. Now I'm paying uber attention to everything I do and wondering if it's good enough.

What should I do? My therapist only made the situation worse. She suggested that my manager is keeping a paper trail by sending me this email! Do you believe that! She probably wasn't thinking well at the time. Still, it hurt.