Hyperdemands and their consequences in daily life

The mismanagement of the responsibilities and goals that we set ourselves on a day-to-day basis is, for many people, a source of constant discomfort.

However, sometimes you fall into the trap of not only trying to keep up with an unsustainable pace of work, but also considering that the The fact of always being with water around the neck and nerves at the limit is part of normality, of what you have to go through yes or Yeah.

In this article we will talk about precisely that, the hyperdemands, and the way in which these affect psychologically in our daily life.

• Related article: "Perfectionist Personality: The Disadvantages of Perfectionism"

What are hyperdemands?

Hyperdemands are a pattern of behavior through which we get used to demanding from ourselves a pace of work and performance that we can hardly reach, or to which we did not directly arrive.

For this reason, hyperdemands can give way to harmful lifestyle habits, both physically and mentally.

Possible causes

These are the main causes from which hyperdemand with oneself can arise.

1. perfectionism

Many times, the excessive demand with oneself is not so much in the amount of work to be done as in the quality of the results to be obtained.. In these cases, the main driver of this pattern of behavior is linked to perfectionism managed in an inadequate way, counterproductive for the person.

On the other hand, perfectionism can be of two types, and both cases can cause problems if they become the center of the life of the person who develops them.

1.1. perfectionist efforts

Perfectionist efforts are present in those individuals who try to get closer to an ideal through their work, regardless of what others do. For example, an artist trying to outdo himself and create the most important work of her career is likely to be driven by this kind of perfectionism.

1.2. perfectionist concerns

Perfectionist concerns are present in those who try to do something in the best possible way to meet the expectations of others, that is, due to external pressures. An example of this would be a skater concentrating on not getting disqualified from a championship so as not to disappoint her family.

2. work pressures

We must not forget that in countries like Spain, the labor market is very competitive and the threat of being unemployed and taking time to find another job is very real. This means that many people do not find a job role that satisfies them, since in order not to lose added value they must sacrifice a lot and work hard. Some people even work overtime without being asked, simply out of fear of losing their income stream..

3. Family responsibilities

On the other hand, there are many people who do not give enough when it comes to fulfilling the tasks of the home and raising the children, and who despite this refuse to ask for help.

This is a type of hyperdemand more frequent in women, because historically the female role has been linked to home care, which leads to some of them to feel shame and guilt at the idea of ​​not giving the maximum of themselves and sacrificing themselves for the the rest.

Its impact on quality of life

These are the different ways in which hyperdemands affect the well-being of people.

1. Lack of sleep

Lack of sleep is one of the phenomena in which hyperdemand is noticed before. People who try to get by with a lot of responsibilities tend to either believe that sleeping is wasting time, or not being able to fall asleep at the right time, or sleep deeply.

• You may be interested in: "The 7 main sleep disorders"

2. stress and anxiety

On the other hand, hyperdemand goes hand in hand with a high activation of the nervous system, that is, be always alert. This causes anxiety-type disorders to arise and stress crises to be relatively frequent.

3. Increased risk of falling into addictions

People who face a heavy workload every day are more likely to develop addictions. This is a coping measure for discomfort that provides some relief in the short term, but obviously hurts them greatly in the medium and long term. However, in the face of anxiety and stress, the long-term vision loses prominence.

4. rumination

Rumination is the tendency to turn things over, especially those thoughts related to the tasks to be carried out and the goals to be achieved, since these generate anguish and stress, in such a way that they attract the attentional focus towards themselves.

Are you looking for professional support in the face of hyperdemand?

If you think you tend to overload yourself with excessively ambitious responsibilities and goals, and you think you need professional support, I suggest you contact me. I am a psychologist specialized in the cognitive-behavioral intervention model and I have many years of experience helping individuals and companies. To see more information about me, as well as my contact information, go to this page.

Bibliographic references:

• Flett, G. L.; Hewitt, P. L. (2002). perfectionism. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Gäde, J.C.; Schermelleh-Engel, K. & Klein, A.G. (2017). Disentangling the Common Variance of Perfectionistic Strivings and Perfectionistic Concerns: A Bifactor Model of Perfectionism. Front Psychol., 8: 160.
• Lizmore, M.R. Dunn, J.G.H.; Dunn, J.C. (2017). Perfectionistic strivings, perfectionistic concerns, and reactions to poor personal performances among intercollegiate athletes. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 33: PP. 75 - 84.