Your day begins by stepping on the scale in the morning. This number dictates how the rest of your day goes.
Think back to high school, if you dare. You just found out you got a 94% on your Chemistry test. Were you ecstatic with your A? Or were you ashamed that you fell short of a perfect score? With perfectionism, we tend to experience guilt and shame in the absence of perfection, though we know that perfection is unattainable and unrealistic.
The problem with perfectionism is that we believe it is the goal, the expectation, a must.
And without it, we come to believe that we are “less than” and worthless. Unfortunately, there is no “middle ground” and mediocrity is not an option. So, perfectionism and procrastination go hand in hand.
Do you have a junk drawer? A messy closet? A corner of your desk you have been avoiding? Avoidance in areas like this serves as a coping skill we use to help protect ourselves from the beliefs that we are bad because we aren’t perfect. It’s easier to close a junk drawer and ignore the junk than it is to see the junk, and internalize fault for having junk in the first place. The solution? Learning to believe that your behavior and your achievement do not determine your value.
The eating disorder specialists at Bricolage are familiar with the struggles you’re eating disorder brings to session.
At Bricolage Wellness, we will provide a supportive and non-judgmental space for you to talk about your experiences related to the cycle of perfection, shame, and burnout. We will help you make sense of the feelings that come up when you think about your experience of “falling short” or feeling “less than”. You will be given a safe outlet to process your frustrations, identify growth opportunities, and implement some strategies to support your goal of lowering the stakes, and loving yourself more.