Atelophobia: What is it?
Atelophobia is a condition in which an individual has an extreme fear of not reaching perfection in any of their actions, ideas or beliefs.
This fear of any type of imperfection in his life can make the person who suffers from it become his biggest critic with anything he says or does and continuously fears, because the things he does are not done well enough.
This fear of imperfection goes far beyond wanting to do things as best as possible, since in cases where atelophobia is diagnosed there is a condition that makes it a true obsession, causing continuous failed relationships and making it practically impossible. Impossible to function in society.
Symptoms
Fear or intense anxiety
The main symptom of atelophobia is a heightened fear or anxiety of imperfections. These imperfections, as we said, can appear in their own behaviors or actions, in objects, life situations, etc.
Denial
One of the usual characteristics of people with problems to overcome the fear of not being enough is the denial of what they are suffering. They act towards others as if everything is fine and they are happy. But they are not, in reality they suffer a high level of stress caused by the fear of not being perfect and the continuous self-reproach that leads them to always be tense.
Avoidance of imperfection
The person with atelophobia will avoid those situations that can trigger that anguish that he feels in the face of imperfection; that is, he avoids her at all costs. It may also be that he spends a great deal of time doing things perfectly (a symptom he shares with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder).
Psychophysiological symptoms
In atelophobia, physical symptoms of the body itself may also appear, such as: tremors, hyperventilation, nausea, vomiting, tension, excessive sweating, etc. That is, symptoms of a panic attack (even if it does not manifest itself).
In short, the body is overactivated, in the face of the stimulus that generates anxiety and discomfort. All of these symptoms reflect anxiety or concern about not finding perfection.
Causes
Genetics
There may be a genetic propensity or it may come from a traumatic event. First, there is the possibility of biological predisposition. Example, the limen of the physiological part, as well as the inheritance of personality traits are somewhat perfectionist.
Vulnerability
Vulnerability can influence the appearance of this phobia. Through a link that is not very generic, it can be perceived that those with atelophobia have had a great restrictive learning during their childhood. An excessively demanding and rigid education can lead to not so good thoughts. It can also appear in cases where it is evident that you are not doing something right and have serious consequences. Something that can lead them to have that thought that the perfect is the best.
learned behaviors
In many cases, it is a learned behavior that begins in childhood and continues into adolescence. Demanding parents and perfectionist teachers encourage higher grades, triggering mental disorders in the future. Where the fear of not being good at what is done is included.
Those educational patterns that are marked by self-demand, rigidity, perfection are important for the development of the phobia. Likewise, that parents have obsessive behavior patterns, intolerance to imperfection. It leads to extreme fear of presenting symptoms of atelophobia.
unresolved emotional conflict
Atelophobia, like most phobias, comes from a subconscious overprotective mechanism. And as with many phobias, it can also be rooted in unresolved emotional conflict. Demanding parents who demand perfection and overly strict teachers can become central triggers for future mental disorders. Including the fear of not being good enough.
Diagnosis
If the symptoms of atelophobia significantly limit normal daily life and persist for more than six months, it is advisable to consult a doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist to identify and define the problem.
The initial evaluation of the atelophobic subject is essential to understand the reasons underlying the discomfort, identify its meaning and quantify its scope.
Therefore, the doctor:
He asks the patient for a description of the symptoms and what triggers them.
Try to determine how severe the symptoms are.
Excludes other types of anxiety disorders or general pathology.
To formulate the diagnosis of atelophobia, it is important for the doctor to observe the patient’s reaction to the idea of failure.
Impact
Atelophobia can greatly limit the lives of those who suffer from it, since it can influence multiple activities and contexts, such as work or daily relationships, as well as causing great discomfort.
Over time, the symptoms are activated just by thinking about the situations that typically trigger the disorder and, in extreme cases, can lead to suicide, depression, eating disorders, and schizophrenia.
Treatment
The first treatment option for atelophobia lies in those interventions indicated for specific phobias. Thus, psychotherapy aimed at relaxing and exposing the person to the feared situations of it, that is, to the ideas of imperfection, constitute the treatment of choice.
It is argued that if the phobic response is reduced through habituation to the ideas of imperfection, the person will be able to stop carrying out their avoidance behaviors and therefore reduce their obsessive, rigid and perfectionist behavior.
However, this type of phobia can often cause major problems in its treatment.
Especially in those cases in which the obsessive and perfectionist personality is especially marked, exposure and relaxation techniques may not be enough, since the individual may continue determined to function in a certain way.
Personality disturbances are often more difficult to treat. In these cases, despite the fact that the treatment of the phobia should not be abandoned, it is usually necessary to incorporate other treatments such as cognitive therapy or pharmacological interventions.