Does being a perfectionist affect your health

johnjo asks:
A. Many would say that it certainly affects the sanity of the less-than-perfect people who have to live with them! However, there now seems to be evidence than if you are a perfectionist, you are seriously damaging your own health.

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Q. In what way
A. A new study of more than 1,400 men, which lasted 20 years, shows that those who are obsessively clean and tidy are twice as likely to have a heart attack as their grubby friends. The same goes for anyone with a phobia or who shows signs of anxiety, such as palpitations, sweating, sleep disturbance and indigestion.

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Q. Just because someone left a few crumbs lying around
A. Well, that sounds very rational, but if you are obsessive about cleanliness or suffer from phobias, small things can take on huge proportions.

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Q. Does the obsessive behaviour actually cause the heart disease
A. Looks like it. None of the men in the study showed any obvious signs of cardiac problems when they were recruited between the ages of 40 and 64. The scientists behind the research reckon that psychological factors are indeed likely to increase the risk of a heart attack.

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Q. What did these perfectionists do for a living
A. They had regular jobs: working in local government, a food processing company and the Post Office.

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Q. So what can perfectionists do to lessen the risk
A. Chill out and learn to relax. Research shows that behavioural therapy is very effective in such cases.

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Q. Behavioural therapy What's that
A. It's also known as exposure therapy or desensitisation. You've seen it on TV: spider-phobic person sits at one end of a room and a psychotherapist holding a tarantula sits at the other. Very gradually they make their way nearer and nearer to each other until the spider-phobic is cuddling the tarantula and asking if he can take it home.

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Q. Does it work
A. It's very successful because you are always exposed very gradually to whatever it is you fear, so you learn to face it. And you don't do it alone - you have the support of the psychotherapist. Other useful ways to relax include relaxation tapes, visualisation, breathing techniques, yoga.

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Q. Where do I get more information
To find a yoga teacher in your area, click here.

For information on how to manage stress, click here.

To learn breathing techniques, click here.

Or you can call the National Phobics Society (0161-227 9898) for advice.

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Do you have a question relating to body and mind. Post it here.

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By Sheena Miller

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