Fear of failure. Never feeling good enough. Struggle to find balance or make progress.
All of these can occur for anxious high-achievers and make life both overwhelming and unbearable at times.
Perfectionism comes from a combination of setting excessively high expectations and becoming overly critical of oneself.
This can lead to less life satisfaction, clinical depression, and an increased risk for suicidal ideation.
You may notice these symptoms…
You set impossibly high standards and feel like a failure when you don’t achieve them
You tend to overthink things and have a desire to be in control most of the time
You’re self-worth often hinges on your performance in work or school
Relationships are not a priority because being vulnerable is too challenging
Why Seek Therapy of Perfectionism?
Perfectionism itself isn’t always harmful and can be adaptive so you can succeed in a various aspects of your life. It becomes dangerous when it negatively impacts your functioning and causes feelings of hopelessness, low self-esteem, and depression. You start to feel stuck in an unhealthy pattern of setting unrealistic expectations and feeling like a failure when those goals are not achieved. We start to internalize these beliefs and it brings us down into a deeper depression. Subsequently, we start setting even more goals to try to pull us out and the cycle repeats.
How Does Therapy for Perfectionism work?
By identifying the core problem of perfectionism we can create lasting change that pulls us out of these unhealthy patterns and utilizes perfectionism so that it is adaptive and creates more positive results.
Specific objectives may include the following:
- Identify core negative beliefs related to not being good enough or worthy
- Create more realistic expectations that facilitate success and boost self-esteem
- Sit in the discomfort of not being successful and manage overwhelming emotions
- Develop an ability to challenge all or nothing thinking
If you are struggling with the negative consequences of perfectionism, you are not alone. It can create high anxiety and debilitating depression that is difficult to escape. Together, we can work toward creating lasting change and achieving goals that are both fulfilling and satisfying. Please contact me today for a free consultation to see if we are a good match.