Aspects of perfectionism
Eating disorders researchers have shown that perfectionism is involved in the genesis of the disease. There are two main types of this feature. The first type is adaptive perfectionism manifested by the high standards that the person sets for himself. They shape its choices and influence the achievement of specific, intended goals.
The second subtype to maladaptive perfectionism (otherwise: non-adaptive), which is closely related to the opinion of other people and is expressed, for example, by constantly adapting to their requirements. This type of perfectionism is associated with the frequent perception of one’s own decisions and actions as wrong. Both aspects of perfectionism are involved in the emergence of dissatisfaction with your body and contribute to development eating disorders.
RESEARCH
This year, in the eating disorder journal The Journal of Eating Disorders has published the results of a study examining the relationship between perfectionism and eating disorders. Over a thousand women took part in the study. The subjects ranged from 28 to 40 years of age. When qualifying for the study, they were weighted and categorized according to the BMI (Body Mas Index) – women ranged from 16 to 64 kg / m2, i.e. from underweight to morbid obesity.
Results
The results indicate that having both of these subtypes of perfectionism at a high level contributes to the increased concentration on your appearance and excessive interest in your image. The development of such features can lead to the development of the risk of developing eating disorders.
Additionally, it turned out that the BMI index correlates with the subjective attitude towards one’s own body. The more the indicator BMI was distant from the healthy (normal), the greater was the difference between the real and the ideal image of a woman’s body. This means that both people suffering from anorexia and obese have distorted picture own body.
Consequences of research
While perfectionism is recognized as an important factor in the development of eating disorders, its exact role in perceived body image is difficult to quantify. Tracey Wade and Marika Tiggemann of Flinders University say that women who aim to achieve the lowest BMI and body size possible tend to overclock. worrying in situations where they happen to make a mistake. These people are characterized too lack of trust to each other, doubt in their abilities and abilities more than people for whom body image is not so important.
According to Professor Tracey Wade, perfectionism is generally a very useful trait, but there is a point where it becomes useless and even harmful. Knowing that perfectionism of any kind is a risk factor for eating disorders suggests that w therapy for patients who tend to have this trait, it is worth working in such a way as to help them focus less on defining theirs self-esteem and help them build it in such a way that it is not only based on the ability to achieve high standards.
Changing beliefs about yourself as well as locating your self-esteem elsewhere (not focused on achieving specific goals) can contribute to prevention and more effective treatment eating disorders.
Based on: medicalnewstoday.com