Perfectionism

Most people want to do well in exams.

Some people believe that they have to do well – or they feel like failures.

This usually results in either:

• Studying for very long hours (or trying to), or
• Procrastinating and then trying to catch up close to the deadline

Both can result in high levels of anxiety and the problems that go along with that.

A little bit of perfectionism can be helpful but too much can be disabling.

The alternative to perfectionism isn’t giving up, though you may feel like doing that. It’s making small changes – finding ways of modifying perfectionism so you can make the demands on yourself more realistic.

Here are some resources which may help:

• A cognitive behavioural programme from the Australian Centre for Clinical Interventions
• When Perfect Isn’t Good Enough: Strategies for Coping with Perfectionism, Anthony and Swinson (New Harbinger)
• Overcoming Perfectionism, Roz Shafran
• The University Counselling Service runs workshops on perfectionism