Perfectionist personality: the disadvantages of perfectionism.

The disadvantages of taking this trait to the extreme.

The perfectionism refers to an individual's belief that perfection must be achieved in everything he or she does.

In all areas of life, perfectionists hold themselves to very high standards, which can often lead to frustration and other psychological problems.

Are you a perfectionist?

It might seem that being a perfectionist will help us to achieve more and be more successful, and in fact in many occasions it does, but the excess of perfectionism can provoke negative consequences.. For example: living more tense, being more anxious, not enjoying achievements and even a feeling of failure despite doing things well.

Thus, certain forms of dysfunctional perfectionism can lead to psychological disturbances linked to anxiety and depression. This occurs especially when what is considered "perfection" is perceived as a set of expectations imposed by others and to which one must fit, and not as an ideal to be reached in a process of self-improvement.

Therefore, it is useful to know if you are someone who tends to it is useful to know whether you are someone who tends to the perfectionist personality and how this is reflected in the way you relate to yourself and others.

• You may be interested in, "How are perfectionism and depression related?"

Causes of perfectionism

Perfectionism is also known as "Perfectionist Syndrome", or "Ananchastic Personality Disorder", and its causes can be varied. Some experts claim that there is a genetic predisposition to be a perfectionist, but regardless of an individual's genetic history, the human environment influences personality from birth. Environmental causes that can lead to the development of a perfectionist personality include the following:

• Growing up in an environment in which praise is constantly received.as it can lead to extra pressure extra pressure to maintain that standard. Receiving praise is not a bad thing, the problem arises when self-esteem depends solely on external factors, such as constant praise.
• Being constantly humiliated during childhood can lead to trying to achieve a degree of perfection as a way to be socially accepted.
• Authoritarian parents who demand a lot from their children can also lead to a perfectionist personality.can also provoke a perfectionist personality in their offspring.
• Some kind of negative experience or trauma may cause the person to be scarred, so that he or she becomes a perfectionist in order to be accepted or to make up for his or her emptiness.
• Growing up in a household with highly successful parents or siblings may cause individuals to seek to live up to what is demanded of them as family members.
• Children of perfectionistic parents may develop a perfectionistic personality because that is what they have learned at home.
• Someone who suffers from low self-esteem may work relentlessly to compensate for feelings of inferiority.
• Low tolerance for failure may cause someone to try to overcompensate for their fear of failure.
• The highly competitive society in which we live can cause people to become obsessed with perfection in order to achieve good results and stand out from others.

Negative consequences of being a perfectionist

The perfectionist puts himself irrational goals that can create constant tension and cause eternal dissatisfaction with everything he or she does. This can cause the perfectionist individual to end up suffering in their day-to-day life, but how does it affect them? Below are the negative consequences of being too much of a perfectionist:

1. Low self-esteem

Since perfectionists are never satisfied with their accomplishments, feelings of failure can lead to the development of low self-esteem. Beliefs of failure about their successes are unrealistic: when a person suffers from a perfectionist disorder, they may perform tasks with a high degree of excellence, but their irrational perception makes him/her believe that his/her work has not been up to par despite the praise of others..

2. Guilt

Since the perfectionist person never feels good about what he performs, he thinks that he has never achieved his goals. Therefore, the self-decrimination and guilt are habitual for thinking that you have not met your expectations.

3. Pessimism

Since the perfectionist sets very high goals and does not recognize his own achievements, his view of goals is pessimistic. This forces him to fight relentlessly to achieve his goals, but he does not enjoy the moment. does not enjoy the momentThe perfectionist's level of demand causes him excessive tension.

4. Depression

The perfectionist always needs to be perfect, but this is impossible to achieve in all situations. Depression may be the cause of perfectionism on some occasions, but the negative consequences of being a perfectionist may also depress the person who suffers from perfectionism.

5. Rigidity

Wanting to make everything perfect leads the perfectionist to be a rigid, unspontaneous and inflexible person. inflexible.

6. Obsession

Perfectionists are obsessive and always want to have everything under control. The perfectionist finds it very difficult to enjoy day-to-day life because he is always obsessed with perfection.

7. Loss of self-confidence

Since in the end the perfectionist person thinks that he/she never achieves his/her goals, his/her perception of self-efficacy is affected and therefore he/she assumes an attitude of helplessness.