Perfectionism

Are you someone who exhibits 'perfectionistic' tendencies? Perhaps you set very high standards for yourself, or, others. Do you find that once you set a goal and reach it, you set the goal-posts even higher? It's never quite 'enough'? Having high standards can be helpful & motivational, however, when having such high unrelenting standards starts to impact on your overall wellbeing, it's perhaps helpful to stop and re-evaluate how well this coping strategy is really serving you. Perfectionism can look like being very self-critical and demanding of yourself, over-preparing/working or, indeed, it can also look like experiencing indecision or avoiding activities/actions altogether for fear of not making the 'right' decision/doing the 'right' thing or 'achieving' to the standard that you would expect of yourself.

Having such high expectations of self and others can become really exhausting and all-consuming, often resulting in burnout, impacting relationships, mood, anxiety and self-esteem. Together, we can gently explore how this is impacting you and help support you in understanding what keeps you 'stuck' in this cycle of perfectionism. We will work on figuring out how helpful your current coping strategies are and begin to look at alternative, new coping strategies that would aim to make life less stressful & more enjoyable for you. I like to enable you to develop self-awareness and have a resource of tools and techniques you can use on your own to allow you to become your own therapist. If you are ready to work with a therapist who is supportive and empathetic, as well as able to offer gentle challenge when needed, please feel welcome to get in touch to ask any questions or arrange a first consultation.