Perfectionism is a trait that is heavily associated with other mental health disorders but can exist on its own. With perfectionism, people have unrealistic expectations for themselves, and they focus on achieving perfection. When they fail to meet perfection, it can result in poor self-esteem, obsessive thinking, and self-criticism. In this way, perfectionism can often lead to substance abuse.
What is Perfectionism?
Perfectionism is a trait that can manifest as having unrealistic expectations for yourself and other people or as having a need to be or appear perfect. This can take three main forms:
- First is having an unrealistic desire that you be perfect
- Second is having unrealistic standards of perfectionism to be achieved by others
- Third is believing that other people have unrealistic expectations of what perfectionism really is
While striving to do well is perfectly fine, a personality trait of perfectionism can lead to harmful traits, including:
- Fear of failure
- Self-criticism
- Obsessive thinking
- Constantly seeking reassurance
It is not uncommon for people who struggle with perfectionism to have other mental health issues like OCD, anxiety, or depression.
Those who struggle with perfectionism often have high standards for themselves, and if they fail
To meet those standards, they are highly critical of themselves, which means that they are continually driven by fear and the fear of failure in a perpetual cycle.
How Perfectionism Leads to Substance Abuse
How perfectionism leads to substance abuse has a lot to do with this cycle.
Negative Self-Talk
People who struggle with perfectionism are often self-critical and highly critical at that. This leads to a great deal of negative self-talk. So, how perfectionism leads to substance abuse, in this case, has a great deal to do with setting unrealistic goals and then dealing with the negative mental health consequences that result from failure to meet those goals.
Let’s look at an example:
Stephanie is a perfectionist. She committed to taking on more work than she has time to complete not just through her job but through two volunteer projects, one for a community development project and another for a church project. When she realizes that she can’t keep up with the work, Stephanie starts to feel like she isn’t good at her job, and she isn’t worthy of being part of those two projects.
In Stephanie’s case, she regularly overcommits and then regularly fails to get everything done, after which she regularly deals with low self-esteem and poor life satisfaction because of the ongoing negative self-talk and self-criticism that result. So, she might turn to drugs or alcohol to try and deal with the emotional toll that this takes.
Relapse
How perfectionism leads to substance abuse doesn’t just apply to those who haven’t sought help. It also applies to those who have. People who struggle with perfectionism in their recovery don’t allow for mistakes. Unfortunately, mistakes are a learning opportunity and a regular part of the recovery process, so in these scenarios, the people who have a rigid approach to their recovery are more likely to be overwhelmed by single mistakes.
This means that the negative self-talk is continually reinforced, as well as self-criticism or individuals tell themselves that they’re simply not capable of change or they will never succeed. Without identifying the underlying sources of these feelings, those same individuals are more likely to relapse for all the reasons that brought them to Addiction in the first place.
Getting Help with Substance Abuse
With Peninsula Health Center, you can start a holistic drug rehab program to tackle substance abuse and learn to overcome perfectionism. At our facility we can help you investigate the sources of your perfectionism, what has led you to place that pressure on yourself or on others. Eventually, you’ll be able to work on letting go of unrealistic expectations and building your self-esteem while learning from your mistakes.
All of this works toward supporting a lasting recovery and helping you improve your overall mental health.
Overall, perfectionism has a strong correlation to the development of substance abuse. Perfectionism can take many forms, but no matter the form, it can lead to significant problems with personal perceptions of failure, negative self-talk, and relapse. However, the right treatment program can give you insight into changing your adaptive behaviors in response to perfectionism and using the right coping skills.
Reach out to Peninsula Health Center today to see how we can help you.
