The Mental Health Risks of Perfectionism & Competency in Professional Industries
Hardworking. Dedicated. Driven. Capable. Successful. Tenacious. You've probably heard some, if not all, of these words used to describe you, especially throughout your career. Let's face it: You're a bit of a perfectionist. Your job title is who you are. You've tied it to your personality. You actually don't know who you would be if you didn't throw yourself into your career. You strive for perfection, no matter what the task is. But is perfection actually attainable?
Let's dive into the mental health risks of perfectionism and competency in professional industries.
Anxiety
Striving to be perfect can lead to several different mental health risks and disorders. Perfectionists often have excessively high standards for others but even higher for themselves. These unrealistic expectations they set for themselves can often lead to anxiety.
Anxiety fueling a perfectionist can be a vicious cycle. If a perfectionist's work or performance falls below the expectations they set for themself, it can lead to an increased amount of anxious thoughts and feelings. The anxiety may be driving a perfectionist to throw themselves into their work. This leaves little room for errors or mistakes. If something doesn't go according to plan, it can lead to increased anxiety over regret and concern for not performing to their standards.
Depression
Perfectionists have an increased risk of developing depression. A perfectionist will often ruminate or self-obsess over not meeting their goals, making a mistake, or missing something like a task or deadline.
When self-worth is linked to perfect performance, depression is likely to follow if goals aren't being met. A pattern of rumination and self-abuse can start to form. Perfectionists can be extremely hard on themselves. If they don't allow themselves to make mistakes to learn and grow, depression-like symptoms can start to form and increase over time. If the depression is left untreated, perfectionists are at a higher risk for suicide ideation or suicide attempts.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
The need for perfection often portrays itself as a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The desire to be perfect can cause obsessions or fear of making mistakes, making wrong decisions, or being viewed as doing their job poorly. Rituals or compulsions will be performed as a way to reduce the anxiety surrounding the obsessions. Some common compulsions of perfectionists experiencing OCD-like symptoms are the following:
Redoing tasks so they're "right" or "perfect"
Seeking approval or reassurance
Procrastinating
Working long hours to finish a project
Insomnia
Another mental health risk that goes hand in hand with perfectionism is insomnia. Being competent, a perfectionist, and/or a workaholic can make it difficult for someone to fall asleep at night or stay asleep throughout the night. Perfectionists may experience thoughts keeping them up at night dealing with their past, their present day, or things they need to worry about in the future, especially upcoming projects, emails, or to-dos that may be on their project list. They are also more likely to experience guilt, shame, and regret, especially at night when there are fewer distractions. Unfortunately, these late-night thoughts and feelings may drive them not to prioritize their sleep, so they have more time for their current to-do list.
Next Steps
Perfectionism has been linked to a variety of different mental health risks, even beyond the conditions mentioned. If left untreated, perfectionism can take a toll on your mental well-being. If you or someone you love is experiencing signs or symptoms of perfectionism, reach out to us today to set up a consultation.
We can help sort through any feelings and thoughts linked to a desire to be perfect and give you the tools you need to get back to enjoying your life again, inside and outside your career. Reach out to me for support with Therapy For Women` when you are ready.