perfectionism refers to an individual’s belief that perfection must be attained in everything one does.

Are you a perfectionist?

Being a perfectionist might seem to help us achieve more and be more successful, but too much perfectionism can lead to negative consequences , for example: living more tense, being more anxious, not enjoying achievements and even a feeling of failure despite doing things well.

Causes of perfectionism

Perfectionism is also known as “Perfectionist’s Syndrome”, or “Anchorage 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 the personality from birth. The environmental causes that can lead to the development of a perfectionist personality are as follows:

  • Growing up in an environment where you are constantly being praised , as it can cause an extra pressure for maintaining that standard. Receiving praise is not bad, the problem arises when self-esteem depends only on external factors, such as constant praise.
  • Being constantly humiliated during childhood can lead to attempts to achieve a degree of perfection as a way of being socially accepted.
  • Authoritarian parents who demand a lot from their children , can also provoke a perfectionist personality in their descendants.
  • Some kind of negative experience or trauma can cause the person to be marked, so that he or she becomes a perfectionist to be accepted or to fill his or her emptiness.
  • Growing up in a household with very successful parents or siblings can cause individuals to seek to live up to the demands of being a family member.
  • Children of perfectionist parents can develop a perfectionist personality because that is what they have learned at home.
  • Someone who suffers from low self-esteem can work endlessly to compensate for feelings of inferiority.
  • Low tolerance for failure can 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 the crowd.

Negative consequences of being a perfectionist

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

1. Low self-esteem

Since perfectionists are never satisfied with their achievements, 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, he may perform tasks with a high degree of excellence, but his irrational perception leads him to believe that his work has not been up to scratch despite the praise of others .

2.Guilt

Since the perfectionist person never feels good about what he does, he thinks he has never achieved his goals. Therefore, self-recrimination and guilt are common for thinking that he has not met his expectations.

3.Pessimism

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

4.Depression

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

5.Stiffness

Wanting to make everything perfect leads the perfectionist to be a rigid person, not spontaneous and inflexible .

6.Obsession

Perfectionists are obsessive and want to have everything under control at all times. Perfectionists have a hard time enjoying their day-to-day lives, as they are always obsessed with perfection.

7.Loss of self-confidence

Since in the end the perfectionist person thinks that he never manages to achieve his goals, his perception of self-efficacy is affected.