The hidden cause of burnout – perfectionism
Your hard work and perseverance has led you to where you are. But maintaining your high standards in a high stress, competitive environment over time might be causing hidden damage that is now coming to light.
My clients are often surprised to hear that their commitment and drive might be fueling some of the symptoms of anxiety and depression associated with burnout.
Understanding the signs of perfectionism
Perfectionism can take many forms, but it’s often the feeling of never being good enough. Some people are perfectionists because they want to do everything perfectly, while others feel like they have to be perfect or else they will fail.
If you have a perfectionist mindset, it might have helped you get to where you are today. Perfectionism can drive success. Perfectionism can also get in the way of enjoying life. Here are some key signs that your perfectionism might be interfering with your happiness.
- Focusing on the negatives instead of the positives. This means that every time you get something done, you think about all the other things you didn’t get done.
- Never being satisfied. This means that no matter how much progress you make towards your goals, there’s always something more to do.
- Constantly anxious. Are you always worried about not doing enough or making mistakes? This means that you worry so much about the future and everything going wrong that it affects your ability to enjoy yourself in the present.
- Feeling resentful, victimized, exhausted. These feelings tend to surface after years of constantly trying to push yourself harder than everyone around you.
