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The toll of perfectionism

A closeup image of a man cutting wheatgrass … with scissors.
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Stone RF
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Perfectionism is on the rise among young people.

This hour, we look at the impact of perfectionism on mental health and how to deal with perfectionist tendencies.

Plus: what the self-help industry can tell us about our interest in perfection.

GUESTS:

  • Thomas Curran: Assistant professor of psychological and behavioral science at the London School of Economics and Political Science and author of The Perfection Trap: Embracing the Power of Good Enough
  • Tamar Gendler: Professor of philosophy, psychology and cognitive science and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Yale University
  • Kristen Meinzer: Co-host of the How to Be Fine and By the Book podcasts, among others, and author of How to Be Fine: What We Learned from Living by the Rules of 50 Self-Help Books

The Colin McEnroe Show is available as a podcast on Apple PodcastsSpotifyAmazon MusicTuneInListen Notes, or wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe and never miss an episode!

Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

Colin McEnroe, Jonathan McNicol, and Cat Pastor contributed to this show, which originally aired April 13, 2022.

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Lily is the senior producer for The Colin McEnroe Show. She's also a producer of the podcast 'Generation Barney.' She first worked at Connecticut Public as an intern in 2014. She has previously worked for WBUR, KUNC and as a producer for the New England News Collaborative's weekly show Next. Lily can be reached at ltyson@ctpublic.org.