I used to laugh and say, “Everything stresses me out,” but under the surface, I was barely holding it together. Every unfinished task, every mistake, every unread email felt like a failure. I was constantly chasing some invisible, impossible standard—and no matter how much I achieved, it never felt like enough.
I didn’t realize I was dealing with perfectionism. I thought I was just being “responsible” or “driven.” But in reality, I was exhausted. I couldn’t relax. I would replay conversations in my head, stress over tiny details, and beat myself up for things no one else even noticed.
Eventually, I burned out. That’s when I turned to therapy—not because I wanted to slow down, but because I physically and emotionally couldn’t keep pushing anymore.
In therapy, I started to understand how perfectionism was fueling my chronic stress. My therapist helped me see the connection between my unrealistic expectations and the anxiety I was feeling every day. We worked on unlearning the belief that worth comes from achievement, and that mistakes equal failure.
I learned how to recognize all-or-nothing thinking, how to challenge my inner critic, and—maybe hardest of all—how to tolerate being “good enough.” It didn’t happen overnight, but slowly I stopped measuring my day by productivity and started noticing when I needed rest, joy, or connection.
Now, I still set goals, I still care—but I don’t treat my life like a constant performance review. I can breathe again. I can let go a little.
If everything stresses you out, and you're tired of living by impossible standards, therapy can help you break the perfectionism cycle and start living from a place of self-trust instead of fear.
Add comment
Comments