There’s a therapist in Houston who can help you defeat perfectionism once and for all.
So, you can keep your high standards and toss out the self-doubt, insecurity, burnout, and anxiety…
Let me ask you…
Are you constantly worried about failing?
Do you feel that your best effort is never good enough?
Do you feel like no matter how hard you try you’ll always end up a failure?
Are you worried that people will not love you if you don’t achieve very high goals? Are you tired of beating yourself up when you come up short on an important goal? Do you feel like you’ll never feel good enough despite any achievement you can make? Are your unrealistic standards causing you stress or burnout?
If you’ve answered yes to these questions, you may be suffering from perfectionism…
What is Perfectionism?
You may be intimately familiar with perfectionism. Some describe it as “feeling like life is a report card on my worth and I’m always in fear of coming up short.” Others describe their perfectionism as “all-or nothing thinking, and ‘some’ is not good enough.”
Experts in the mental health field have described perfectionism as “the need to be or appear to be perfect.” While the exact cause is different for everyone, it may stem from experiences in childhood that taught you your self-worth was to be earned, not a natural part of who you are. Conditional love and parents who pushed you too hard are common.
What can make perfectionism toxic is that while those in its grip desire success, they’re more focused on avoiding failure. They are often motivated by fear rather than joy.
To them, unconditional love is perhaps just a fantasy.
Is it a Mental Illness?
Perfectionism is a personality trait. It’s not considered a mental illness, though it is a common factor in some mental health challenges like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Perfectionism can lead to anxiety, depression, low self-esteem and more. Perfectionists tend to judge themselves very harshly, especially when experiencing failure.
What Causes the Need to Be Perfect?
There are a few known causes. For one, an insecure early attachment. If your parents or primary caregivers were not there for you consistently, you may have started trying to “be good enough” so that they’d stick around. This may have led you to try to be “perfect.” Hence, perfectionism.
Another cause might be that your parents demanded a lot from you. We’ve all heard of soccer moms and baseball dads losing their composure on their kids and ruining the game.
If your caregivers had a similar, overbearing parenting style, you may have tried to live up to their high standards. Hence, perfectionism.
Now you may be wondering…
Do I Have Perfectionism?
In addition to the signs and symptoms listed above, perfectionism can also come with procrastination, a tendency to avoid challenges, rigid all-or-nothing thinking, toxic comparisons, or a lack of creativity.
People struggling with perfectionism may feel insecure, inadequate, and afraid of judgment from others. Sometimes, one or both parents were harsh, critical and demanding.
Perfectionism is often accompanied by depression, anxiety, and OCD. Some perfectionists experience disordered eating patterns and even suicidal impulses.
If you experience some or all the above symptoms, you may be struggling with perfectionism.
How to Overcome Perfectionism?
There are a few ways. Mindfulness, compassionate self-talk, challenging negative beliefs about yourself with a therapist, and more.
As one person commented about her own perfectionism, “the key is to realize that an endeavor can be worthwhile even if it’s not perfect.”
To overcome perfectionism, part of the process is to let go of the comparison mindset. This is something we can help you with at Destination Therapy.
How Destination Therapy Helps You Overcome Perfectionism
We can help you in these areas:
- Reducing self-doubt
- Developing stable self-worth
- Creating realistic goals and expectations
- Breaking negative self-criticism and self-evaluation
- Exploring early experiences that contributed to perfectionism
- Developing resilience to cope with mistakes, criticism, and failure
- Learning ways to respond more effectively to stress and challenges
- Identifying and releasing beliefs about oneself that drive perfectionism
And more. Our trained clinicians have helped countless others like you to overcome perfectionism.
Putting Perfectionism in the Past
If you’re ready to stop the self-doubt, the internal criticism, and the low and condition-based self worth…
If you’re ready to be released from your fear of failure, let go of unrealistic standards, and develop healthy goals…
If you’re ready to leave perfectionism behind for good…
Then we can help you kick it to the curb, so you can thrive and ENJOY the life you want to live! A life that’s aligned with your deepest values and desires!
Contact us below.
–Monique Dunn, Founder, Destination Therapy
Ready to take the next step? We are so excited!
The fastest way to start your healing journey with us is to click here to book a 15 minute consultation with a member of our team.
Alternatively, you can email us here: hello@thedestinationtherapy.com, call us Monday through Friday 9am – 5pm at (346) 266-2912 or fill out the contact form below.