Overcoming perfectionism: online self-help for students

Is it common for people to tell you "you're such a perfectionist" or "you have to do things perfectly"? While it is good to seek high standards, it can also be upsetting when perfectionism becomes unhelpful.

For example, do you need to perfect tasks and attend to details such that it takes a much longer time to finish a task without adding great value to the final outcome?

This can be stressful and a lot of time is spent worrying about one's ability to do well, be it in studies, sports, leisure, appearance or social situations. This type of unhelpful perfectionism can result in self-criticism, low self-esteem, poor performance, stress, anxiety and low mood.

This research study aims to find out the effectiveness of "Overcoming perfectionism" - an online, guided self-help programme based on research and self-help books. You can learn skills to be more flexible and free, to like yourself, to be kind to yourself and to enjoy your life without lowering your performance.

Eligible participants who reach the end of the programme will receive the Overcoming Perfectionism e-book and up to £20 in Amazon vouchers.

To find out more, visit the Overcoming perfectionism website, and to take part, email: overcomingperfectionism@ich.ucl.ac.uk.

This study has been approved by the UCL Research Ethics Committee, project ID number: 6222/001.

Professor Roz Shafran, UCL Institute of Child Health