Is there any harm in the obsession with perfection?

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Perfectionism, a trait that makes life an endless report of achievement. When the body is healthy, perfectionism can be self-motivating and push you to overcome adversity and achieve success. When the body is unhealthy, it can be a path to quick and long-term unhappiness. What makes extreme perfectionism so toxic is that we only want to succeed and avoid failure.

1. Perfectionism

Perfectionists hold themselves to unimaginably high standards. They think what they do is never good enough.
Some people mistakenly think perfectionism is a healthy motivator, but it's not. Perfectionism can make you feel unsatisfied with your life. The obsession with perfection can lead to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, anorexia, stress, and self-harm or suicide. Finally, the obsession with perfection can also cause you to stop trying to achieve success. Even mild cases can affect your quality of life, affecting your personal relationships, school or work.
Perfectionism can affect young people as well as adults. Children and adolescents are often oriented to become overachievers in school assignments and activities such as sports, clubs, community service and employment, which can lead to phobias. Perfection . Then, the obsession with perfection can hinder your ability to achieve success.

2. The Cause of Perfectionism

Perfectionism is driven primarily by internal pressures, such as the desire to avoid any setbacks or to form harsh judgments. Perfectionism may have a social component, because perfectionism has increased dramatically among young people over the past 30 years, regardless of gender or culture. Greater competition in academics and careers is thought to play a role, along with the pervasive presence of information on social media and the harmful social comparisons it causes.

3. Signs that a person is a perfectionist and is always looking for perfection

Perfectionists set unrealistically high expectations for themselves and others. They are quick to find mistakes and are overly critical of mistakes. They tend to delay a project for fear of failure. They shrug their shoulders in praise and forget to celebrate their successes. Instead, they look to specific people in their lives for approval and validation.

4. Types of Perfectionism

Perfection manifests itself in three areas. Self-directed perfectionism is imposing an unrealistic desire to be perfect on oneself. Other-directed perfectionism means imposing unrealistic standards of perfection on others. Societal perfectionism involves perceiving unrealistic expectations of perfection from others.

5. Symptoms of perfectionism

The desire to achieve success always represents health. But the irrational desire to always be perfect can cause many problems that affect life. You may be experiencing perfectionism if you: feel like you fail at everything you try, procrastinate frequently - you may refuse to start a task because you fear you won't be able to finish it. doing it perfectly, struggling to relax and share your thoughts and feelings, becoming out of control in your personal and professional relationships, obsessed with rules, lists and tasks, or alternatively, the symptoms can become extremely frigid.

6. Perfectionism treatment

You may try to hide your personal problems and that may make perfectionism harder to treat. But remember, it's important to seek help when you need it. If perfectionism is getting in the way of your ability to live a happy and fulfilling life, talk to your doctor or mental health professional. If you are thinking of harming yourself or others, seek emergency medical attention.
Therapy, especially cognitive-behavioral therapy, can help you learn new ways of thinking about your goals and accomplishments. A therapist can help address your need to accept or lessen your response to negative feedback.

7. Some Ways You Can Avoid Perfectionism

To reduce perfectionism, here are a few things you can do:
Set realistic goals for yourself to achieve Break down tasks into small steps Focus on one activity or task at a time Acknowledge that everyone can make mistakes Realize that most mistakes can provide learning opportunities Face the fear of failure by maintaining realistic outcomes If you suspect that perfectionism is affecting your health, talk to your doctor. They can recommend therapy or other strategies to help manage your symptoms.

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Reference source: healthline.com