Although being thorough in what we do is often considered a virtue, the truth is that perfectionism can become a double-edged sword . Recent studies suggest that the costs of this personality trait outweigh its benefits. These are four scientifically proven drawbacks of being a perfectionist.
Work addiction Recently, researchers at the University of Kent showed that being a perfectionist and having a high motivation towards work predisposes us to be workaholics, that is, addicted to work. As explained by Joachim Stoeber and his colleagues in Personality and Individual Differences , this would explain why some people tend to always work excessively and compulsively, something that is favored when individuals set standards that are too high for themselves.
Decrease in productivity. According to a study published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science , excessively perfectionist researchers are less productive academically , since they publish fewer articles and these, in addition, have less impact. This implies that the obsession with excellence can have the opposite effect as desired.
Binge eating Simon Sherry and his colleagues at Dalhousie University (Canada) have concluded that overly perfectionists are more predisposed to suffer from compulsive eating disorder or “binge eating disorder” , less well known than anorexia and bulimia but quite common . The most characteristic of this pathology is that episodes of excessive food intake occur. Before and after these binges there is a negative emotional state, where high anxiety or stress predominate. And according to the authors, it occurs in perfectionist people because they feel the need to “escape” from a reality that frustrates them for not having achieved their goals.
Depression. A Canadian study echoed by Nursing Research and Practice indicated that since it involves a level of self-demand that is difficult to satisfy, perfectionism causes emotional stress and makes us more vulnerable to depression. “Perfectionism is not a healthy attitude,” the authors concluded.
