Topic > Why perfectionism is associated with depression, anorexia nervosa, suicidal ideation, and premature death

My work is not like that of a painter. It's not like I can complete the painting; it's a long painting. And I will give touches to the painting even when I take my last breath, however the painting will be incomplete. – Osho Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Around the world, young people are reporting unprecedented levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts to doctors. Globally, it is estimated that over 300 million people suffer from depression, equal to 4.4% of the world population. One of the fundamental reasons for this mental disorder is that young people show a greater tendency towards perfectionism. This market-based society, the principles of neoliberalism, the focus on self-interest and competition, the enormous pressure to prove one's worth and outperform one's peers (both in the family and in the workplace) have created a atmosphere to demonstrate one's worth in society. If people rank poorly, the logic of our market-based society dictates that they are less deserving – that their inferiority reflects some personal weakness or flaw. The very idea of ​​perfection has driven all of humanity to madness. Are we infallible? In general, perfectionism is an irrational desire for perfection, combined with harsh self-criticism. But on a deeper level, what distinguishes a perfectionist from someone who is merely diligent or hardworking is the single-minded need to correct their imperfections. Perfectionists need to be told that they have achieved the best results possible, both through scores and metrics and through other people's approval. When this need is not satisfied, they experience psychological distress, because they equate mistakes and failures with inner weakness and unworthiness. Thinking in terms of perfection means thinking in terms of ideology, goals, values, shoulds and shouldn'ts. You have a certain pattern to fulfill and if you fall from the pattern you will feel immensely guilty, a sinner. And the scheme is destined to be such that you cannot realize it. If you can achieve it, it won't have much value to the ego. Thus, the inherent quality of the perfectionist ideal is that it should be unattainable, only then is it worth achieving. Do you see the contradiction? And this contradiction creates a schizophrenia: you are trying to do the impossible, which you know perfectly well will not happen and cannot happen in the very nature of things. If it can happen, then it is not a great perfection; then anyone can do it. So only two alternatives emerge: the first is that you start to feel guilty. If you are innocent, simple, intelligent, you will start to feel guilty and guilt is a state of illness. And guilt is rooted in the idea of ​​perfection. The second alternative is: if you are cunning you will become a hypocrite, you will start pretending that you have achieved it. You will deceive others and you will deceive yourself. You will begin to live in illusions, hallucinations. Pretending, living a life of pretension is much worse than the life of a guilty person. At least the guilty person is simple, but the pretender, the hypocrite, is a swindler. Irrational ideals of the perfect self have become desirable – even necessary – in a world where performance, status, and image define a person's usefulness and worth. You don't have to look far to find examples; companies and their marketers offer all sorts of cosmetic and material solutions for the imperfect consumer. Meanwhile, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat provide platforms to exchange the perfect version of yourself and yours with others.