The relationship between dysfunctional perfectionism and anxiety

Perfectionism as a tendency to want to achieve the best possible result does not have to be harmful in itself; It may even bring many benefits to various people who have this trait (for example, get very good academic grades, stand out in a sport, etc.).

The problem arises when this self-imposed perfectionism encourages the person to go beyond the fine line between what it would consist of performing your tasks efficiently, with passion and care, and what would become an obsession to achieve extremely lofty goals, even unattainable in certain cases.

The latter characterizes the term known as dysfunctional perfectionism; to the detriment of those who strive to achieve their tasks with energy, but without causing them exhaustion and frustration when they have not been able to obtain the expected result, in which case we would speak of a perfectionism rather functional. In this article we will see what it is the relationship between excess perfectionism and anxiety problems.

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What is dysfunctional perfectionism?

Perfectionism has been considered as a transdiagnostic process. This means that it is a characteristic feature in various mental pathologies, such as various anxiety-related disorders (p. eg, obsessive compulsive disorder, obsessive compulsive personality disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

There is currently no established diagnosis for dysfunctional perfectionism in any of the diagnostic and statistical manuals (DSM and ICD). However, this personality trait is widely recognized by mental health professionals due to the physical and mental discomfort it generates in people who present it.

Dysfunctional perfectionism is characterized by an urge to continuously obtain successful results in everything that the person proposes and without committing any failureSince, if they do, even if they have achieved a positive result, they would feel that they have failed, and this would generate a lot of anxiety.

For this reason it is very characteristic that these people have dichotomous thoughts of "all or nothing", which consist in that if they achieve the desired results they feel invincible; On the other hand, if things don't go as expected, they think they have done everything wrong.

These people are often very competitive, that they only focus on their goals and withdraw a little from their social environment and also have a low tolerance for uncertainty, which in the long run generates many symptoms of anxiety and stress.

The physical and mental consequences of people with dysfunctional perfectionism are as follows.

1. Burnout syndrome

Also known as “burnout worker syndrome”, it is characterized by extreme physical and mental decay and a feeling of dissatisfaction with the job you do, as well as a feeling of depersonalization, characterized by a feeling of being distanced from their co-workers.

Wanting to obtain excellent results entails having to put in too much effort, which in the long run can lead to chronic stress that triggers this syndrome.

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2. Depression

They often develop depressive episodes due to setting very high standards of themselves in all facets of your life and, as is normal, there are stages in which things will not turn out as expected, and for it they will feel like failures, with little hope of improvement.

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3. Eating disorder

A very common characteristic of these disorders is perfectionism taken to the extreme. It is more common than normal for them to weigh themselves and look in the mirror several times a day, that they carefully control the food they eat and that they are very demanding in other areas of their life, such as academic or work.

• Related article: "Eating disorders: how are they approached from psychotherapy?"

4. Anxiety

The low tolerance for uncertainty and the urgent need to do things perfectly generates in these people a very high anxiety.

This disorder is extremely common in people with dysfunctional perfectionism and, therefore, we will dedicate a specific section below to explain it in more detail.

• Related article: "What is anxiety: how to recognize it and what to do"

Anxiety in people with dysfunctional perfectionism

Anxiety in highly perfectionist people is triggered by various reasons. Some of them are those that are brought about by internal instigators, which consist of ruminative thoughts that generate high pressure on the individual; such as "I must be the best at everything", "everything should go perfectly for me", and this desire to become one causes anxiety symptoms (p. g., restlessness, alarm, nervousness), all of which can negatively interfere with their daily life.

Fear of failure, another very common characteristic, could be caused by low self-esteem and, in turn, generates high levels of anxiety. This means that they carry out failure avoidance behaviors, such as spending excessive time and effort in performing their tasks and even avoiding performing them in moments in which he considers that he will not reach the expected level of success, leading the individual to procrastinate until he considers that he is prepared.

The high intolerance to uncertainty also generates great anxiety in these people. When they have to wait a reasonably long time to obtain the results of their effort they are typically stressed, physiological activation, negative anticipatory thoughts in relation to an outcome of what they want to see satisfactorily resolved. Intolerance of uncertainty has also been linked to excessive worry and rumination.

A high degree of neuroticism It is a personality trait characterized by the tendency to experience intense anxiety and negative emotions in response to stressful situations. Studies have shown the relationship between neuroticism, the social-family environment, the parenting style received and the degree of Parental perfectionism with the subsequent development of maladaptive perfectionism between the personality traits of the person.

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Prevention of dysfunctional perfectionism and its psychological problems

It is not an easy task for those who always give their best in everything they do on their own. day by day lower the piston to try to work efficiently without leading to physical saturation and mental. However, it would be advisable to try to reduce the workload little by little and even postpone certain tasks that are not pressing.

According to Altstötter-Gleich, they could begin with a known task, as an exercise in mediocrity in which people must make less effort when carrying out a task, and then observe what happens, under the supervision of a professional, which can be of great help so that they understand that nothing serious happens because they do not always give one hundred percent in everything they do.

It could be very useful to allow moments of total disconnection in which you only focus on enjoying yourself. of the here and now, in the process of carrying out a certain pleasant activity and, even, not doing absolutely any.

It would also be important work to change maladaptive thoughts and behaviors that maintain that dysfunctional perfectionism. It would be wise to start by addressing your dichotomous all-or-nothing thoughts about success and failure in everything you do.

Treatment

There is currently no psychological treatment specifically designed for people with a high level of perfectionism. However, given that this trait has been recognized as a transdiagnostic psychological characteristic and, more specifically, very common in anxiety disorders, we could apply the Unified Protocol for the transdiagnostic treatment of emotional disorders designed by Barlow.

The treatment modules are the following:

• Module 1: you have to focus on setting goals so that you can do it little by little and in turn it is important that you stay motivated for it.
• Module 2: you must understand that emotions are not bad or good, but that they all have a functionality and therefore are equally important.
• Module 3: develop a full emotional awareness to understand the relevance they have in helping to learn from their own lived experiences. Focus on the present moment without making any judgment.
• Module 4: know the influence that thoughts have on the emotions they experience.
• Module 5: understand the behaviors you perform to avoid feeling unpleasant emotions.
• Module 6: understand how you try to carry out certain behaviors in order to avoid failure.
• Module 7: develop a tolerance to certain physical, emotional and situational sensations that you previously tried to avoid.
• Module 8: recognizing the achievements obtained throughout the process, learning from them, so that they serve for future situations and thus be able to prevent relapses.