i
Perfectonist problems Dangers of students expecting too much of themselves Sydney Territo
H
ave you ever put off a project because you do not know how to do it to the very best of your ability, or felt mad at yourself over not being able to meet the goals you have set? I certainly have. From an early age, I expected far too much of myself and would crumble when faced with a challenge rather than take it head-on and overcome it. If I got anything lower than a C on any assignment, no matter how big or small, it would ruin my day; and I would dwell on the fact that I did poorly,, instead of learning from my mistakes and improving for the future. I am a perfectionist, and it was detrimental to my mental health and ability to learn. Perfectionists are people who experience perfectionism, which is, according to Brown University, sets of self-defeating thoughts and behaviors that stem from being unable to reach unrealistic, excessively high goals. They create a vicious cycle where, once unreasonable goals are inevitably not reached due to their impossibly high standards, the pressure to achieve these goals increases until it eventually ruins the perfectionists’ self-esteem. There are two main difference kinds of perfectionism: adaptive and maladaptive. Maladaptive perfectionism has become very prevalent recently, as shown by an American Psychological Association research paper examining its rise in college age students. The increase in perfectionism may be linked to societal change, where there has been more of a competitive focus in achievement in recent years. Thomas Curran and Andrew P. Hill examined college
Socially prescribed perfectionism is where perfectionists believe that other people expect them to be perfect and that these other people will be highly critical of them if they fail to meet expectations.
Social antagonism is the active hostility between opposing social groups.
present tense?
Page 28
Tiger Times
Adaptive perfectionism is a healthier form of perfectionism, where the person who sets high standards is more flexible as conditions change.
Maladaptive perfectionism is more damaging because the person who is not able to meet their high standards berates themselves and puts themselves down rather than adapting.
Who?
terrisyd000@hsestudents.org
students’ responses to the Multidimensional Perfectionism scale and found that self-directed perfectionism levels rose over time, as well as other-oriented perfectonism and socially prescribed perfectionism. They believe that these rises in perfectionism come from a culture shift where individualism, materialism and social antagonism are stressed. That societal change can be seen everywhere. From sports competitions like the Olympics to the SATs, the pressure to be better than everyone else is ridiculous. I experienced it early on in my development, when I was placed into the “REACH’’ program at my elementrey school. It essentially separated the students who scored higher on standardized tests at an early age from everyone else and then taught them an accelerated curriculum. I was not quite as adept as most of my peers, and I struggled with tests and quizzes much more than they ever did. I believe this caused me to develop an inferority complex, where I was terrified of performing any less than perfect because I did not want to be looked down upon or judged as a “stupid smart kid.” It was only when I started working on reversing much of my thought processes with the help of a therapist that I was able to accept less desirable grades with more grace and use them as learning. Not only can this perfectionism ruin mental health, it also has a detrimental effect on performance in the classroom. In a study on the effect of perfectionism on classroom engagement in chinese colleges, it was found that maldaptive perfectionism correlated with
burnout, whereas adaptive perfectionism was correlated to students’ engagement in the classroom. I cannot deny that my perfectionism did benefit my grades, but it was imensely bad for my mental health, and if I hadn’t started to work on it, I likely would have ended up in a similar position to the students in this study. Perfectionism is not always a bad thing,. The National Academic Advising Association has said that adaptive perfectionism can lead to higher achievement in students compared to non-perfectionists, especially those who set high expectations for themselves and also remain optimistic in the face of adversity. Not only are they reported to have higher grades, but they also have better self-esteem and less anxiety, depression and stress. Since perfectionism is not inherently bad, the most difficult thing to achieve is the transition between maladaptive and adaptive perfectionism. Certified Life Coach Kamini Wood believes in finding what motivates you and using that goal as motivation to achieve greatness. She recommends journaling if you struggle with unproductive perfectionist ruminations, as they help identify perfectionistic judgments, and allow you to figure out ways to combat these thoughts. Once I started to view my assignments as opportunities to learn from my mistakes, it allowed me to be more at peace with my grades. While I still struggle with my maladaptive thinking, I have a more positive and healthy outlook, which greatly improved my mental health.
April 2022
