Perfectionism: A Form of Self-Harm

Most of us would say that "No one is perfect." We say, "Strive for progress, not perfection." But even as we are saying that, many of us are still striving for perfection. Much of this is unconscious to us, but sometimes we recognize at least the tail end of this dragon when it shows up in our anxiety, even in our depression. Perfectionism births a loud and obnoxious inner critic that just will not let go. We know that when we live with someone who is hypercritical that this is a form of emotional abuse. But we do not realize that that same hypercritical voice is within us emotionally abusing us. And it turns out that, after all, perfection is actually a myth, a myth we can live out of as if it is the only reality there is. In fact, perfectionism can scew our entire version of reality into something that is not realistic at all. Today we will talk about perfectionism and some ways to release its strangle hold on our thinking, feeling, believing, and emoting. Don't miss it.