Perfectionism is among the most harmful diseases among American kids today. The sword of perfection is double-edged. One side of the sword pushes children to become perfect. Children strive to be perfect and be the best athletes and help save the world during weekends. Another side to the blade is I've not met a perfectionist who was happy. They won't be content since they'll never be perfect.

Jim Taylor, Ph.D. He teaches in the University of San Francisco. His area of expertise is the psychology of sport, business and doctors who treat anxiety near me parenting. Jim has worked as consultant to and given group and individual training for executives and companies. Jim has worked as an advisor for both the United States and Japanese Ski Teams and USA Triathlon, the United States Tennis Association, and USA Triathlon has been invited to speak from several of the Olympic commissions from The U.S., Spain, France and Poland.

What is Perfectionism?

The concept of perfectionists is that children set unreasonable expectations for themselves and striving to achieve an ideal that they can never be able to achieve. They believe the notion that any less than perfect is not acceptable. If they don't attain those standards that are impossible to meet They scold themselves mercilessly. Children who are perfectionists never feel satisfied with their work regardless of how objectively they do, and they reprimand themselves for not being perfect. After speaking to a group made up of high school students recently, one student in the audience spoke the story to me about how she received a score of 100 on a test which also included ten extra credit points. She scored seven of the ten points, for total of 107 out of 100. However, the three extra credit points she missed was eating her alive for years!

The root of perfectionists lies a psychological healthcare danger that if children don't meet the standards and their parents don't like them. The reason for this is that children are able to connect being perfect with their self-esteem. Being perfect is a sign of how much they consider themselves to be an important person worthy of respect and affection. The price that children think they have to pay if aren't perfect is huge and can be devastating including anxiety, depression eating disorders, substance abuse and even suicide.

In addition, children aren't required to be perfect throughout their lives in order to be perfectionists. They are only required to be flawless in the areas that they are passionate about, like, there are schoolmates with messy rooms, or sports stars who do not bother with their schoolwork.