Atelophobia (phobia Of Imperfection): Symptoms, Causes And Treatment

We all know that today we live in a competitive world in which there is a high level of competition and demands regarding our actions. At the work level we are asked to be productive, efficient, proactive, adaptable, capable of working as a team, good colleagues and organized. And this not only at the work level, but also in facets as a couple we find ourselves with a high level of demand and competitiveness.

This frenetic pace makes some people think that they not only have to be good but that they must always seek excellence, and even perfection in everything they are or what they do. And even, in some cases, phobic symptoms of not achieving perfection may even arise. This is the case of those who suffer from atelophobia a peculiar phobia that we are going to talk about in this article.

What is atelophobia?

Atelophobia is a rare phobia, which we could consider specific despite the fact that its phobic object is rather subjective and can vary enormously from one person to another. As a phobia, we are not talking about a simple discomfort, but about the existence of an irrational and disproportionate fear and panic to the presence of a specific object, being or situation (to the point of triggering panic attacks), this fear generating the avoidance of the phobic stimulus or situations in which it may appear.

In the specific case of atelophobia the phobic stimulus is imperfection, or rather failing to achieve perfection with their actions, ideas or beliefs. In some cases this can also extend to the behavior of others and not just your own.

It is easy to think of atelophobia as perfectionism, but we must bear in mind that it is not limited to it: genuine anxiety and somatic and behavioral reactions appear that are out of the ordinary and disproportionate in relation to the possible risk that it could pose.

This means that the person with atelophobia will feel terrified at the idea of ​​doing something that is not perfect, avoiding those situations in which they can do it or spending a large amount of time trying to do things perfect. The symptoms do not end there, but The presence of some type of imperfection can cause the appearance of tachycardia, hyperventilation, tremors nausea and vomiting or cold sweats, among others, reflecting psychological discomfort or anxiety caused by the presence of the feared stimulus.

Consequences

The symptoms described above may represent a high level of interference, generally being much higher than that of other phobias. And first of all, atelophobia involves a fear of imperfection that can occur at any time, place and situation, making the tension more permanent And furthermore, it has a direct implication for self-esteem and personal self-concept.

Thus, it is common for people who have this type of phobia to never be satisfied with themselves and have a very low self-concept and self-esteem. They will also have a high level of demand regarding their own behavior, never being anything they do good enough and always comparing their performance with that of those who do everything best. This discomfort generally causes them to present depressive symptoms and even some irritability and hostility

And not only with themselves: they also demand a lot from others. This can cause these people to have severe difficulties in their social, work and relationship relationships as they consider that their relationships and performance with all of them, and theirs with him/her, should be perfect. Added to this is also the continuous self-criticism, which can generate a certain rejection of being present permanently.

At work, in addition to social difficulties, they can also waste a large amount of time trying to improve or perfect results that were already good, losing efficiency and productivity.

In some cases this problem can also generate problems with the body itself, although it is not so common since the fear itself is usually that our behavior and its results are not perfect, being quite specific in the sense that it is “ what we do, think or believe” is what is usually judged and not so much the physical.

However, There are cases in which it has also been linked to the presence of eating disorders: Problems may appear when atelophobia is mixed with exercise or dieting to the point of losing quality of life and damaging one’s health.

In addition to all this, it must be remembered that the subject will tend to avoid situations in which it is easy for his or her actions to not be perfect, which can lead to isolation and cessation of a large number of activities, both work and leisure. Attempts to try new things or train to consolidate a skill may also be eliminated in order to avoid exposing oneself to the risk of not being good.

Causes

The origin of atelophobia, as occurs in most mental disorders, is not completely clear. And it is that There are multiple factors that interact when a mental health problem arises

Firstly, there may be a certain biological predisposition, such as a low physiological activation threshold or the inheritance of somewhat perfectionistic personality traits. This predisposition or vulnerability is only such, but the experience of certain events or the learning of certain ways of acting can converge with it to favor the appearance of atelophobia.

At a less generic level, it has been observed that it is common for those who suffer from atelophobia to have had a restrictive upbringing or throughout their childhood to have received a high level of criticism, with their actions never being sufficient to please those around them. An excessively demanding and rigid education It can lead to the thought that they will never be good enough.

It can also appear in cases in which they have experienced that not being able to do something well enough has had severe consequences in their lives, something that may have led them to generalize in such a way that they fear that not being perfect will have consequences.

Link with other disorders

Atelophobia is a disorder that is difficult to diagnose, which can be confused with the aforementioned perfectionism that can be part of typical behavior, or it could also be easily confused with various disorders.

It is possible to observe a certain connection with a very specific group of disorders: obsessive disorders The best known of them is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder or OCD, specifically being more similar in those cases whose obsessions are linked to aspects such as cleanliness, order, verification or morality. In both cases there is concern about one’s own actions and there is a high level of self-demand. The worry and anxiety that they feel in both cases can lead them to compensatory acts, and they dedicate much of their time to these worries. However, obsessions or compulsions as such do not appear in atelophobia.

Possibly the one that atelophobia is most similar to is a disorder similar to the previous one: Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (although the name is similar to OCD, here there are no obsessions or compulsions, it is more stable and the characteristics of the disorder are integrated into the personality), in which the aforementioned perfectionism is present in a persistent way and can generate a high level of maladjustment and suffering, both one’s own and that of others, as the individual requires that everything be ordered and well done.

It is common for there to be social adjustment problems and even a certain anxiety The truth is that atelophobia could appear in a person with this type of personality and in fact these types of people are much more prone, but they should not be identified. Firstly, because atelophobia is a more specific disorder that does not have to be part of the person’s identity, in addition to the fact that the fear of failure does not have to generate physiological symptoms in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Another aspect to take into account is the possibility that atelophobia is linked to physical appearance, which could pose a serious risk of suffering from some type of eating disorder or body dysmorphic disorder.

Treatment of phobia of imperfection

The treatment of atelophobia shares with that of most phobias the fact that it is based on exposure to feared stimuli. Thus, it is intended that the subject be capable, either through exposure or systematic desensitization, of not manifesting an anxious response to imperfection. Make a hierarchy of especially phobic situations and working progressively so that the subject remains in the situation or generates a response incompatible with the anxious response is one of the most common therapies, and must be carried out through negotiation between professional and patient.

Also in this case it is essential to work through cognitive restructuring, through which we can try to modify beliefs regarding our own personal effectiveness and the need to do everything perfect. To do this, it may be useful to work previously on the origin of this fear, what it meant then and what it means now, what meaning the patient gives it, how it affects them and when it appears.

Likewise, it will be necessary to work on the level of self-expectation and the existence of cognitive distortions. Therapies that work on self-gratification and self-esteem They will also be of great help to improve the patient’s emotional situation. If the anxiety is unacceptable for the patient, it is possible to use some anti-anxiety drugs in such a way that the symptoms are reduced and psychological work can begin.