Welcome back. This is savvy psychologist. I'm Dr. Ellen Hendrickson and I'll help you meet

life's challenges with evidence-based research, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment.

This week we'll talk about perfectionism, which is more than just high standards or wanting

to excel.

Instead, perfectionism is the setting of unattainable standards and making self-worth

contingent upon meeting those standards.

In other words, it's constantly running a race where the

finish line can never be crossed. Now we have talked about perfectionism on the

podcast before, but thanks to social media, the issue has been

turbocharged to the point that it's time for another look. Because interestingly

imperfection is hot right now. Fitness gurus or posting their belly rolls on social media.

Fail videos attract way more attention than perfectly executed performances

and the otherworldly filtered version of life on Instagram has been declared over.

And you can find a link to that article from the Atlantic in the online transcript for

this episode.

However, unrealistic goals and extreme expectations

still permeate our society like a single drop of ink colors a glass of water.

We're always looking to be even more productive, attractive, high-achieving, wealthy, or famous.

And indeed, sometimes perfectionism can seem to work for us.

A study in the Journal of Research and Personality found that self-oriented perfectionism, which, as

the name implies, is focused on reaching one's own sky-high standards can actually go along with better physical health.

But other times, perfectionism holds you back like a 300-pound bouncer trying to break up a bar fight.

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