Clinical Perfectionism

Perfectionism is usually a word associated with positivity, a sign of doing your very best and often something we boast about and wear with pride when describing our qualities in a personal and professional sense. And while striving to do our best can be motivating, when it becomes incessant it can take an unhealthy grip to the point of disfunction.

Perfectionism becomes a problem when there is a constant need to meet ambitious goals and measuring self-worth on the achievement of these goals. When they are not met, there is a barrage of self-criticism and loathing.

This pressure to succeed and achieve can spiral into depressive episodes or low moods, suicidal thoughts, anxiety or heightened eating disorders. And like so many other mental health issues, it can affect work, relationships and education and of course day to day mindset and emotional well-being.

Clinical Perfectionism has become very common among young people. There is a growing pressure to achieve academically, socially, in hobbies and in the community and the increase in this with young people has been linked to the increased pressure on teachers to see better results and academic achievements in their pupils.

Clinical perfectionism can be difficult to recognise because many simply see it as a personality trait. While there is a growing awareness and a lessened stigma to seeking help and support in terms of mental health, it can be a challenge to seek help for due to the difficulty in recognising what it is.

What are the symptoms?

When setting standards for achievement becomes irrational or has a negative effect on day to day life, it become a bigger issue than being the best at something. Addressing these behaviours is the first step and the following could be a sign to reach out and seek help;

• Setting unrealistic goals and expectations

• Highly self-critical of themselves and others

• A feeling of failure when goals aren’t met

• Regular procrastination

• Struggle to relax or share thoughts or feelings

• Controlling in personal or professional relationships

• An obsession with rules, lists, work, achieving goals.

A person with a positive mental attitude will enjoy working towards goals and feel good when it happens. Perfectionists work towards an idea of a perfect outcome often don’t enjoy the process and feel failure when it doesn’t meet their often-rigid expectations. Even when they achieve what they set out to achieve, they then set another higher set of expectations.

Academic settings and pressure can often bring out perfectionism, but it is almost always learned behaviour. People who experience perfectionism believe their value comes from what they achieve.

How can we overcome?

Many successful treatments for Clinical Perfectionism have taken a CBT approach. This practical approach includes working on understanding perfectionism and can begin by talking about negative thought processes or belief patterns, exploring where perfectionism is healthy and where it can be damaging and how being more realistic in terms of goal setting and achievement can have similar results. For example, using behavioural experiments to try different ways of completing tasks or goals and comparing the results and anxiety levels.

We work with our client’s goals and how to approach them with more flexibility. When trying things differently, we become more aware of what is possible and if there is a better way to carry things out.

We work with the emphasis that self-worth is not measured by achievements. This can include recognising negative thoughts or self-talk and learning to note the positive. Addressing procrastination, prioritising and problem-solving. Viewing thoughts, feeling and emotion without judgement and with acceptance, humanity and kindness. The focus is working together to bring standards to a level that is less damaging and more realistic.

CBT sessions will explore different ways to move away from unhealthy habits and move towards a more positive approach to completing tasks. These can involve;

• Setting more attainable goals

• Breaking up big tasks into small steps

• Focussing on one activity at a time

• Self-compassion

• Realising most mistakes present better learning

• Being realistic about possible outcomes

At Impossible Mental Health, we know there is a way to make things better and we are here for you if you can relate to any of these issues.

Please get in touch if you would like to get started in changing your approach to your achievements or perfectionism.