When Perfect Isn't Good Enough: Strategies for Coping with Perfectionism

Front Cover
New Harbinger Publications, 2009 - Psychology - 291 pages

It's only natural to want to avoid making mistakes, but imperfection is a part of being human. And while perfectionists are often praised for their abilities, being constantly anxious about details can hold you back and keep you from reaching your full potential.

In this fully revised and updated second edition of When Perfect Isn't Good Enough, you'll discover the root cause of your perfectionism, explore the impact of perfectionism on your life, and find new, proven-effective coping skills to help you overcome your anxiety about making mistakes. This guide also includes tips for dealing with other perfectionists and discussions about how perfectionism is linked to worry, depression, anger, social anxiety, and body image. As you complete the exercises in this book, you'll find it easier and easier to keep worries at bay and enjoy life -- imperfections and all.

This book has been awarded The Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Self-Help Seal of Merit -- an award bestowed on outstanding self-help books that are consistent with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) principles and that incorporate scientifically tested strategies for overcoming mental health difficulties. Used alone or in conjunction with therapy, our books offer powerful tools readers can use to jump-start changes in their lives.

 

Selected pages

Contents

Part 1
7
Chapter 1
9
Chapter 2
24
Chapter 3
38
Chapter 4
60
Part 2
79
Chapter 5
81
Chapter 6
99
Part 3
163
Chapter 10
165
Chapter 11
182
Chapter 12
198
Chapter 13
214
Chapter 14
229
Chapter 15
245
Part 4
261

Chapter 7
112
Chapter 8
132
Chapter 9
150
Chapter 16
263
Copyright

Other editions - View all

When Perfect Isn't Good Enough: Strategies for Coping with Perfectionism
Martin M. Antony,Richard P. Swinson
Limited preview - 2009
When Perfect Isn't Good Enough: Strategies for Coping with Perfectionism
Martin Antony,Richard Swinson
Limited preview - 2009
When Perfect Isn't Good Enough: Strategies for Coping with Perfectionism
Martin M. Antony,Richard P. Swinson
No preview available - 1998

Common terms and phrases

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References to this book

About the author (2009)

Martin M. Antony, PhD, is professor and chair in the department of psychology at Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario. He is director of research at the Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario, and past president of the Canadian Psychological Association. An award-winning researcher, Antony has been widely quoted in the American and Canadian media. His research, writing, and clinical practice focus on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and the treatment of anxiety disorders. Antony is coauthor of The Shyness and Social Anxiety Workbook, When Perfect Isn't Good Enough, and more than twenty-five other books. Richard P. Swinson, MD, is professor emeritus and past chair of the department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada. Previously, he was medical director of the Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic, and psychiatrist-in-chief at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the UK. He was awarded an inaugural Distinguished Fellowship of the Canadian Psychiatric Association in 2006, and Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association in 2017. His research interests lie in the theory, assessment, and treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly OCD and social anxiety disorder (SAD). He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, thirty book chapters, and ten books. Swinson has held numerous research grants since 1966, and has been an invited speaker at many conferences around the world on anxiety disorders and substance use disorders. He also chaired the steering committee for the Canadian Anxiety Treatment Guidelines Initiative, leading to the publication of Canadian Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Anxiety Disorders in 2006.

Bibliographic information

TitleWhen Perfect Isn't Good Enough: Strategies for Coping with Perfectionism
AuthorsMartin M. Antony, Richard P. Swinson
Editionrevised
PublisherNew Harbinger Publications, 2009
ISBN157224559X, 9781572245594
Length291 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Psychology / General
Psychology / Psychopathology / Anxieties & Phobias
Self-Help / Anxieties & Phobias
Self-Help / Personal Growth / General
  
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