CBT for Perfectionism
Are you a perfectionist? Have you always considered perfectionism to be a positive attribute? Many people do, so it’s not something they tend to seek therapy for, but it often co-presents with other mental health conditions.
Perfectionism can actually cause a lot of distress. Perfectionists often judge their self-worth based on their ability to achieve high standards. But if you’re constantly striving and trying, nothing will ever feel good enough. You may experience frustration at other people’s low standards and your own can be exhausting and tough to maintain. Perfectionism can also fuel procrastination because you may believe that if you can’t do something perfectly there’s no point.
CBT Techniques for Reducing Perfectionism
Gradually reducing perfectionist behaviours takes the pressure off, lowers stress and allows you to focus more on the things you enjoy. There’s nothing like perfectionism for stealing your time!
The first step is to acknowledge your perfectionism. Look at how it serves you well and how it could be causing problems.
Think about your various perfectionist behaviours such as striving, setting unachievable standards, motivating yourself through self-criticism, taking too much time on projects, excessive list-making or organising, checking and redoing work. Then, for each behaviour, consider the intended consequence and the unintended consequence. When you identify behaviour that would be useful to reduce, put together a plan to do this. Re-evaluate your progress in a few weeks time.
Perfectionism and Limiting Beliefs
Exploring how and why perfectionism has developed can also be useful and is often a focus in therapy. Sometimes perfectionist behaviours have been put in place because of limiting beliefs such as I have to be perfect to be loved or liked, I’m not good enough, I’m not worthy, I’m not clever etc. If you can identify these beliefs, you can work towards changing them and reducing the associated perfectionist behaviours. You can learn more limiting beliefs in my latest podcast episode.
Journaling is a great way to gain more awareness of the areas you want to alter in your life. Start here with my beginner's guide. Finally, a self-help book I often recommend is Never Good Enough.
