Perfectionism - a common issue

 

Perfectionism is a common issue among students in particular (but staff are far from immune), and one that is ideally suited to cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy.  I can help you understand what is going on and give you the tools and techniques to look at things in a different way.  Perfectionism can be debilitating, but is also resolvable.  It may manifest itself as procrastination, for example, or excessive planning, and preferring not to do anything if you can't do it perfectly. But, being perfect simply isn't possible, however hard you try (we are all human after all), and making mistakes is the way we actually learn.  Finding ways to accept that is liberating, so you can enjoy the learning process instead of focusing only on the outcomes.

Perfectionism both causes anxiety and is the result of anxiety - it is a coping strategy - albeit one that over time has become unhelpful. Trying to be perfect is the way you might seek to cope with the anxiety you experience from exams or coursework deadlines.  It can also be the result of faulty thinking - that everything depends on doing not just well, but by being the best.  But perfectionism can affect all aspects of your life, not just work - from how you approach every day issues/problems to your relationships with others. I can help you re-think and re-appraise your whole attitude and to your way of living and working, and so free yourself from the debilitating effects of always seeking perfection.

See blog post: Perfectionism - the modern scourge?