Therapy for Anxious Perfectionists
in Akron, Ohio
You don’t have to perform here.
Your needs are the priority.
Therapy for perfectionism can help you understand the anxiety, self-criticism, over-functioning, and pressure that keep you feeling like you’re never doing enough. We’ll get familiar with where these patterns come from and help you build a life that’s more connected to what you actually want.
I work with high-functioning people who have built their lives around being competent and who are beginning to realize that strategy is depleting them.
How Anxious Perfectionism Shows Up
Feeling like you’re never doing enough. No matter how much you accomplish, there is always another thing you could have done better.
Struggling with procrastination. You may put things off not because you’re lazy, but because starting means risking doing something imperfectly.
Constantly fearing failure. You may spend so much energy laser-focused on details because the stakes of presenting yourself well feel so high.
Difficulty slowing down or resting. When productivity has become tied to your sense of self worth, slowing down can bring up guilt, anxiety, or the feeling that you’re falling behind.
Chronic self-criticism. You may hold yourself to standards you would never expect from anyone else. You are quick to notice your minor mistakes but overlook what you did well.
Feeling like your worth depends on what you accomplish. When achievement becomes a measure of your value, success may bring temporary relief but rarely the lasting sense that you’ve finally done enough.
When Perfectionism Stops Working
Perfectionism probably worked for you for a long time.
It helped you stay ahead, anticipate problems, meet exceptions, and become someone other people could rely on. May it even helped you build a life that looks successful from the outside.
But eventually, the strategies that once helped you feel safe and in control begin to feel exhausting. You may find yourself achieving things without feeling satisfied with them, struggling to celebrate your progress, or constantly moving the goalpost on what would actually make you feel like “enough.”
Sometimes perfectionism becomes most obvious when your life changes. A new job, relationship, parenthood, and burnout can expose just how much energy you’ve been spending trying to get everything right.
The goal isn’t to get rid of perfectionism (it’s a gift). It’s to understand what happens when you can’t give yourself permission to be anything less than perfect.
How Perfectionism Affects Relationships
Perfectionism doesn’t stay contained to work, productivity, or achievement. It can shape the way you communicate, handle conflict, ask for help, and experience closeness.
You become the one who holds everything together.
You may find yourself anticipating needs, solving problems, managing details, or taking responsibility for how everyone else is doing. This can leave you feeling resentful in relationships.
It’s extremely difficult to let others see you struggle.
When you’re accustomed to being the capable one, needing help or reassurance can feel like a personal failing and far too vulnerable.
You expect yourself to get relationships “right.”
Overthinking previous conversations for evidence of mistakes, fear of disappointing others, and bending over backwards to prevent conflict are all signs of perfectionism within relationships.
Healthy relationships don’t require you to be endlessly capable, agreeable, or in control. Therapy can help you understand what makes it difficult to let yourself be known as a whole person including the parts that are uncertain, imperfect, or unsure.
How Therapy With
Me Can Help
I don’t believe you need to become less ambitious or driven. In our work together, we’ll explore what your perfectionism has helped you accomplish, where it becomes costly, and what makes it difficult to step back when you need to.
My approach is warm, direct, and grounded in curiosity.
Interested in working together?
The first step is to book a free 15 minute virtual consultation. We will talk about what you’re looking for, answer any questions that you have, and see if we are a good fit.