Perfectionistic Personality: The Disadvantages Of Perfectionism

He perfectionism refers to an individual’s belief that perfection must be achieved in everything they do.

In all areas of life, perfectionist people demand very high quality standards from themselves, which can often cause frustration and other psychological problems.

Are you a perfectionist?

It might seem that being a perfectionist is going to help us achieve more things and be more successful, and in fact this is often the case, but Excess perfectionism can cause negative consequences For example: living more tense, being more distressed, not enjoying achievements and even a feeling of failure despite doing things well.

Thus, certain forms of dysfunctional perfectionism can give rise to psychological alterations linked to anxiety and depression. This occurs especially when what is considered “perfection” is perceived as a series of expectations imposed by others and in which one must fit, and not as an ideal to be achieved in a process of self-improvement.

That’s why, It is useful to know if you are someone who tends towards a perfectionist personality and how this is reflected in your way of relating to yourself and others.

Causes of perfectionism

Perfectionism is also known as “Perfectionist Syndrome”, or “Anankastic 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. The environmental causes that can cause the development of a perfectionist personality are the following:

You may be interested:  What is Responsibility as a Personality Trait?

Negative consequences of being a perfectionist

The perfectionist gets irrational goals that can create constant tension and cause eternal dissatisfaction with everything you do. This can cause the perfectionist individual to end up suffering in their daily lives, but how does it affect them? Below are the negative consequences of being too perfectionist:

1. Low self-esteem

Since perfectionists never feel satisfied with their achievements, feelings of failure can lead to the development of low self-esteem. Failure beliefs about his success are unrealistic: when a person suffers from perfectionistic disorder, he can perform tasks with a high degree of excellence, but his irrational perception makes you believe that your work has not been up to par despite the praise of others

2. Guilt

Since the perfectionist person never feels good about what they do, they think that they have never achieved their goals. Therefore, the self-recrimination and guilt are common for thinking that your expectations have not been met.

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 incessantly to achieve his goals, but not enjoying the moment because his level of demand causes 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 be depress to the person who suffers from prefectionism.

5. Rigidity

Wanting to make everything perfect leads the perfectionist to be a rigid, non-spontaneous and inflexible

You may be interested:  What is the Worst Thing You Can Say to a Narcissist?

6. Obsession

Perfectionist people are obsessive and they want to always have everything under control. The perfectionist has many difficulties enjoying everyday life, because he is always obsessed with perfection.

7. Loss of self-confidence

Since in the end the perfectionist person thinks that they never manage to achieve their goals, their perception of self-efficacy is affected and therefore an attitude of helplessness is assumed.