2 New Sources

SOURCE 1:

I have read the article Personality Differences Between Depressed Melancholic and Non-Melancholic Inpatients. The authors of this study include Alex Rubina, Marco Zanasi, Camilla Robone, and Alberto Siracusano. They took part in the actual study of these patients to determine the relation between personality disorders (such as perfectionism) on both melancholic and non-melancholic patients. Given that these authors, or rather, scientists conducted the study and have degrees in neuroscience I find them highly credible on this matter. Not only do they record their findings and ideas from the study, they reference many other credible sources which only reinforce the educational and credible value of this resource.

SOURCE 2:

The second source I have come upon is Self-Oriented Perfectionism in Eating Disorders. There are many authors/researchers that were involved and include: Josefina Castro-Fornieles, Pilar Gual, Francisca Lahortiga, Araceli Gila, Vanesa Casula, Cynthia Fuhrmann, Milagros Imirizaldu, Begona Saura, Esteve Martinez, and Josep Toro. Between all of these authors they include multiple members of Departments of Psychiatry, Clinical Psychobiology, and Medical Psychology from different credible Universities. Some are even employees of Institute Clinics of Neurosciences. These people are very involved in this subject I am researching and have much experience in this field. Just like the other source, these people have also conducted their own studies and even include multiple references whom are also credible.

My Understanding

Perfection. It is something I believe a majority of humans are working towards and are pressured to obtain from the high expectations of others. Whether the expectations are implied or directly communicated, we all feel that pressure to be perfect. But is reaching for perfection really worth it?

I have heard that perfectionist personalities can lead to some health issues. No doubt reaching for perfection will lead to stress which can lead to phyisical manifestations such as stomach ulcers. I believe that a perfectionist can also develop mental health issues which are not so easy to recognize. In the couple of resources that I have read it includes depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, eating disorders and even complications of being able to have social relationships. Those are all really serious and can have a profound effect on your life. Listing those conditions, however, is only a scratch on the surface.

These studies, and I hope to find more with the same support, show how perfectionism can lead to certian illnesses and the effects it has on a person as a whole. I think is will be very educational for people to learn what relations and conditions perfectionism can cause/lead to.

Perfectionism

The topic I have chosen for my research assignment is perfectionism.  A lot of people brag about being perfectionists, but what I want to argue is that it may not be such a good thing. I believe that doing your best is a great goal, but that striving for perfection in everything you do is dangerous for your health. The subect of perfectionism really intrigues me in the sense that everyone strives for it, yet it causes us so many health issues that we may not even be aware of. I'm curious to read studies to find out more if perfectionism is a direct cause or an additional symptom of many mental health diseases. I will be blogging over the course of the semester about the different aspects of perfectionism and its effects on the human body.