353. The psychology of perfectionism
The Psychology of your 20s
iHeartPodcasts
4.8 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 13 November 2025
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We’ve all heard someone say, “I’m such a perfectionist”, like it’s a badge of honour. But what does perfectionism really mean - and what’s hiding beneath it?
In today’s bonus episode, we unpack the psychology of perfectionism: the fear, the origins, and how to finally let go of “never good enough”.
We explore:
• The three types of perfectionism - self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed
• Why perfectionism often disguises itself as discipline
• How it’s linked to procrastination, burnout, and anxiety
• Where it develops - from conditional love, insecurity, and need for control
• Real-world costs on relationships, wellbeing and creativity
• Tools to reframe perfectionism
Listen now!
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The Psychology of your 20s is not a substitute for professional mental health help. If you are struggling, distressed or require personalised advice, please reach out to your doctor or a licensed psychologist.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:02.6 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:04.3 | Black Friday at Abercrombie is here with 25 to 50% off everything. |
| 0:09.0 | And IHeart listeners are getting an extra 15% off with code IHeart AF. |
| 0:14.1 | It's the sale you've been waiting for. |
| 0:16.2 | Shop Abercrombie in the app, online and in stores. |
| 0:19.1 | 30% of everything valid in stores and online from 24th of November to 1st of December |
| 0:23.1 | 2025 in UK-EU. |
| 0:24.8 | Excludes clearance and gift cards, online price for flex discount. |
| 0:27.4 | Use code IHeart AF to get an additional 15% of everything in stores and online at checkout |
| 0:31.7 | from 24th of November to 1st of December 2025 in UKEU. |
| 0:35.2 | Excludes clearance and gift cards. |
| 0:36.5 | See your details online. |
| 0:41.7 | Thank you. September 2025 in UK-EU. Excludes clearance and gift cards. See your details online. Hello everybody. I'm Gemma Spike and welcome back to the psychology of your 20s, |
| 0:46.8 | the podcast where we talk through the biggest changes, moments and transitions of our 20s |
| 0:52.9 | and what they mean for our psychology. |
| 1:01.4 | Hello everybody. Welcome back to the show. Welcome back to the podcast. New listeners, |
| 1:06.8 | old listeners, wherever you are in the world. It's so great to have you here back for another episode. |
| 1:12.5 | We've got another bonus episode for you today. These shorter episodes are a little bit different |
| 1:18.5 | from our usual deep dives. Think of them as like little psychology snack breaks where we |
| 1:24.6 | unpack a singular term, singular theory or psychological concept that |
| 1:30.4 | might be misunderstood or just thrown around pretty casually online, terms that we might not be |
... |
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