Ilana Thomas
Journalism
Mrs. Milani
29 March 2018


People who are considered to be perfectionists tend to hold themselves to an unrealistically high standard with everything they do. Being a perfectionist causes never ending stress and anxiety. They continuously aim for something that is impeccable, which is almost impossible to obtain. If something is not the way that person may want it, they will work endlessly to acquire the outcome they desire. Perfectionists that experience failure can be driven over the edge, which could lead to much worse things. A perfectionist that experiences failure can have difficulties feeling comfortable in social settings, forming a long term relationship, and they usually avoid trying new things and procrastinate to say the least.
Not only does perfectionism experience difficulties feeling comfortable in social settings, forming a long term relationship, and usually avoiding trying new things,  perfectionism also often leads to more sick days as well. Always trying to have everything perfect can cause people to run themselves down. Becoming run down physically and emotionally often sets them up for a variety amount of issues. Containing an attitude of negativity and of perfection affects their daily tasks and the way they perform. Students are constantly stressed on a daily basis due to school work, sports, work, and/or family and being a perfectionist will increase their stress on a higher level. If they regularly add more stress than their mentality can hold, their physical and emotional state will be absolutely effected.
In order to deal with this amount of stress, it is important to take a step back from your life and look at things in a different way. Any form of stress relief and something that can break away from being “perfect” is a good way to deal with the crushing idea that everything can be. Life never goes as planned and as a perfectionist, that is a problem. Perfectionist need to learn skills to cope with the anxiety they get from things not turning out how they planned. By overcoming this “phobia,” it is crucial to face your fears of being imperfect. Show up for an appointment 15 minutes late, leave a visible area in the house a little messy, tell people when

you are tired, wear a piece of clothing that has a visible stain on it. Learning that not being perfect is a normality will only help overcome being a perfectionism because nobody is really perfect.
Although being a perfectionist sounds like a negative mindset to hold, it can be turned into a form of positivity and improvement. Passing in assignments that are lacking attention to details will result in a lower grade but passing something in is better than passing nothing in because you let being a perfectionist get the best of you. Even though things may not always turn out exactly how you envisioned them too, someone else probably thinks it is just as perfect as it would be if you spent more time on it. In both instances you need a healthy balance in life that can create something that is great without destroying a person’s self confidence.