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Sheryl Beth's avatar

Gail, I think this was written for me… Thank you for the reality check I desperately needed!

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Kathleen Thorne RN, LMT's avatar

Dr. Gail, working as an RN in the ICU doing travel nursing for almost 30 years. It was very critical to be precise, and my companion, perfectionist or perfectionism served me well.

As far as in my personal life, not so much 😉 CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) is a wonderful thing.

Thank you for shining the light on this topic 🙏

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Gail Post, Ph.D.'s avatar

Kathleen, Thank you for sharing your experience!

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Paula Prober's avatar

This is a thorough look at perfectionism. I am one of those people who write about "healthy perfectionism" particularly in gifted folks but over the years I've thought that coming up with a word other than "perfectionism" to describe the passion for precision/excellence is a better way to go. Thanks for this!

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Gail Post, Ph.D.'s avatar

Thanks for your comments, Paula. I agree; there needs to be a place to describe the positive side of striving for perfection. Like a lot of terms, perfectionism has a negative quality that is confusing for many people and having a somewhat different term might catch on and create a space where striving for perfection is not a problem.

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