Demanding Standards – Living Well With Your Personal Rules

If you asked 100 people whether they set standards for themselves, almost everyone would say that they do. Standards are important, both for people and society, but they can cause problems. If you strive to meet standards that are extremely demanding and difficult to achieve (what might be called ‘perfectionistic standards’), it can lead to serious difficulties, including anxiety, depression, OCD, and eating disorders. Demanding Standards is a guide written for clients struggling with perfectionistic or demanding standards. It will help them to understand:

• What standards are, and why people set them.
• When and why standards become demanding and perfectionistic.
• Practical things you can do to address your demanding standards.

This is a Psychology Tools workbook. Suggested uses include:

• Client handout – use as a psychoeducation and skills-development resource
• Discussion point – use to provoke a discussion and explore client beliefs
• Therapist learning tool – improve your familiarity with a psychological construct
• Teaching resource – use as a learning tool during training

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• Ellis, A., & Harper, R. A. (1975). A new guide to rational living. Institute for Rational Living.
• Shafran, R., Cooper, Z., & Fairburn, C. G. (2002). Clinical perfectionism: A cognitive–behavioural analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 773-791.
• Egan, S., Wade, T. D., Shafran, R., & Antony, M. M. (2014). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of perfectionism. Guilford. 
• Hamachek, D. E. (1978). Psychodynamics of normal and neurotic perfectionism. Psychology, 15, 27-33.
• Shafran, R., Cooper, Z., & Fairburn, C. G. (2002). Clinical perfectionism: A cognitive behavioural analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy,