Atelophobia: 7 Ways to Overcome the Fear of Imperfection

What Is Atelophobia?

Atelophobia is an anxiety disorder involving an extreme fear of making mistakes, especially when the mistake could lead to blame, criticism, or consequences. The word atelophobia comprises two words, ‘atelo’ (imperfection) and ‘phobia’ (fear), which translates to the fear of being imperfect. Atelophobia is classified as a specific phobia, which is one of the most common types of anxiety disorders.^1,2,3

Specific phobias are a type of anxiety disorder where symptoms are triggered by a very specific object, place, or situation. Because the level of anxiety is so severe, people with specific phobias go to extreme lengths to avoid their triggers. Avoidance coping can provide temporary relief for specific phobias but almost always leads to a progression of the phobia and a worsening of anxiety symptoms.²

Is Atelophobia a Form of OCD?

Atelophobia also shares many characteristics with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but there are several distinctions between these two disorders. For starters, OCD tends to be more severe and debilitating than a specific phobia. To be diagnosed with OCD, a person has to spend an hour or more each day engaged in obsessive thinking and/or compulsive behaviors and routines, which is not the case with atelophobia.²

While perfectionism is common in both OCD and atelophobia, it can show up in different ways for each disorder. People with OCD are more likely to cope with their fears of imperfection by adopting rigid routines, strict rules, and time-consuming work habits. People with atelophobia are more likely to cope by procrastinating, canceling plans, and avoiding situations where they are more likely to make mistakes.

Are Atelophobia & Perfectionism the Same?

Atelophobia and perfectionism are separate and distinct from each other, but they often overlap, and having one may increase the likelihood of developing the other. Perfectionism involves a set of personality traits (i.e., high conscientiousness and neuroticism) that make a person more likely to develop unrealistically high expectations, rigid and controlling behaviors, and a fear of failure. These perfectionistic traits can predispose someone to certain disorders like anxiety, specific phobias, OCD, and anorexia nervosa.^1,5

Signs & Symptoms of Atelophobia

All specific phobias involve excessive and irrational fears, and for someone with atelophobia, the fear revolves around making mistakes.² Most people with atelophobia worry that if they do make a mistake, the guilt, consequences, and social criticism that follow will be personally devastating. The fear of being blamed, disappointing others, or being perceived as incompetent is almost always at the center of atelophobia.^1,3

Similar to other specific phobias, avoidance behavior is a central part of the disorder.² People with atelophobia avoid people, places, things, and situations that trigger their perfectionistic anxiety. For example, they may avoid speaking about topics they’re not experts on, back out of projects requiring new skills, or even refuse to play a game with someone until they’ve practiced extensively.

Common signs and symptoms of atelophobia include:

Rumination & Worry

People with atelophobia spend a lot of time ruminating and worrying about past, present, and future mistakes.(FN6) These intrusive thoughts and worries feed and heighten their symptoms of anxiety, sometimes even leading to panic attacks. Rumination can be a difficult habit to break and keeps people with atelophobia excessively focused on the threat of failure.^2,3

Here are some examples of ruminating thoughts and worries in atelophobia:

• Overanalyzing past mistakes to identify what they could/should have done instead
• Overestimating the likelihood of future mistakes & consequences that could ensue
• Rehearsing scenarios where they let others down, fail or are blamed for a mistake
• Mentally listing the worst-case scenarios if they did make a mistake
• Making detailed plans to reduce the risk of making a mistake
• Comparing themselves or their performance to others who they believe are better

Hyper-Responsibility & Analysis Paralysis

People who struggle with atelophobia often feel hyper-responsible (or too responsible) for their actions and their consequences. This leads them to inflate the importance and significance of each word, action, and inaction, believing that even a small oversight could lead to catastrophic consequences for which they’d be blamed.

Hyper-responsibility adds a lot of pressure on individuals with atelophobia and sometimes leads to analysis paralysis. Analysis paralysis is when a person is faced with options that are so overwhelming they freeze up and do nothing. The fear of making a ‘wrong’ move keeps them from moving at all.

Here are some examples of hyper-responsibility and analysis paralysis due to atelophobia:

• Asking for someone else to make a decision so they can’t be blamed for the outcome
• Needing to analyze & re-analyze the possible consequences of any action
• Imagining potential complaints, grievances, and criticisms that could be directed at you
• Endlessly weighing the pros and cons of a choice & feeling more confused (vs more clear)
• Worrying that others will hold them responsible or blame them for a bad outcome

Self-Consciousness & Insecurities

People with atelophobia tend to be extremely self-conscious and insecure. This means that they tend to be far more focused (and concerned) with themselves in social settings than they are with other people. Specifically, individuals with atelophobia often suffer from the spotlight effect, which makes them hypervigilant of how others perceive them and highly focused on their own flaws and insecurities.^1,2,3 This can make them seem distracted, preoccupied, and awkward in interactions with others.

Here are some common insecurities that people with atelophobia may be self-conscious about:

• Being perceived as unintelligent or inarticulate
• Being seen as incompetent by colleagues or supervisors
• Being discovered to be a fraud (impostor syndrome)
• Being accused of being lazy or irresponsible
• Being labeled a novice or amateur at something

Excessive Self-Criticism

People with atelophobia tend to be highly self-critical, holding themselves to unreachable expectations. When they fail to meet their perfectionistic standards, they tend to anxiously spiral into negative thoughts where they blame and shame themselves for things they ‘should’ have done differently. These self-critical thought patterns feed into their anxiety, perfectionism, and avoidance.^3,5,7

Here are some examples of self-critical thought patterns common in atelophobia:

• Zooming in and obsessive over flaws and personal shortcomings
• Comparing themselves to others they view as more competent than them
• Replaying ‘blooper reels’ from the past to prove they are stupid or incompetent
• Feeding into negative beliefs and storylines like “I can’t do anything right”
• Finding ways to blame themselves for situations beyond their control

Avoidance of Triggers

All specific phobias include avoidance behaviors, which include all of the ways people avoid people, places, things, and situations that trigger their anxiety.² The fear of being imperfect and making mistakes can manifest in many situations but may be more pronounced in new, difficult, or high-stakes situations.^1,3,8

Here are examples of avoidance behaviors in atelophobia:

• Refusing to comment or share opinions on topics they aren’t experts in
• Being unwilling to attempt something new without step-by-step instructions
• Avoiding hand-written cards because of a need to spell-check before sending
• Calling in sick from work to avoid the chance of being called on in a meeting
• Buying expensive catering to avoid the possibility of messing up a holiday meal

Over-Preparation & Rehearsals

People with atelophobia often spend a lot of time planning, preparing, and mentally rehearsing their conversations, tasks, and activities before they happen. This kind of preparation is a safety behavior that people sometimes use to reduce the risk of failure. While some planning and preparation are helpful, excessive prep can feed into the insecurities and fears that drive atelophobia, making it worse in the long term.⁸

Here are some examples of overpreparation in atelophobia:

• Spending hours mentally rehearsing simple work tasks
• Doing extensive research before writing a simple proposal
• Needing to spellcheck and grammar check casual texts and emails before sending
• Keeping detailed and unnecessary records ‘just in case’
• Writing out & memorizing a script for an upcoming job interview

Catastrophizing Situations

People who struggle with atelophobia tend to catastrophize and worry about the worst-case scenario in most situations, no matter how unlikely this bad outcome is. Like all phobias, atelophobia involves an overestimation of possible risks, including the tendency to assume the risks are bigger and more probable than they actually are.^1,2,8

Here are some examples of worst-case-scenario thinking in atelophobia:

• “If I mess this up, they might rescind the offer, notify my current job, and blackball me.”
• “This could completely ruin my professional reputation and everything I’ve worked for.”
• “If I let her down on this, she will probably divorce me & take the kids.”
• “They probably think I’m a moron & will never trust my advice again.”
• “If I miss a single detail, it might void the whole contract, and the deal will fall through.”

Seeking Constant Reassurance

People with atelophobia often turn to other people for reassurance. While it’s normal and even healthy to use your support system in this way, people with this condition may take reassurance seeking too far. When someone has excessive self-doubt, reassurance-seeking can become compulsive and unhealthy, even making their anxiety and insecurities worse.⁸

While people with atelophobia might rely on reassurance to feel less afraid of making a mistake, it’s also possible for this to become a bad habit that further undermines their self-confidence.^1,3,8

Here are some examples of excessive reassurance seeking in atelophobia:

• Asking someone else to review and edit your emails or other unimportant documents
• Asking friends and family to vote on something before making a purchase decision
• Needing a supervisor to review and approve of small decisions you can make alone
• Needing to check, double check, and triple check your work to ensure you did it right
• Needing to poll several people after a presentation to get feedback on how you did

Impact of Atelophobia

Atelophobia can have a negative effect on a person’s quality of life and ability to function. Because there are so many different ways atelophobia can show up, there are also many different impacts it can have on a person’s life. For some, atelophobia interferes more with their professional life and career, and for others, it may interfere more with their personal life and relationships.

Impacts of atelophobia include:^1,5,6

• Higher levels of stress, anxiety, and sensitivity to criticism
• Excessive rumination, overthinking, and over-analyzing
• Trouble staying focused and on-task, especially when anxious
• High degrees of self-consciousness and deep personal insecurities
• Poor self-esteem, low confidence, feelings of shame and inadequacy
• Higher risk for depressive symptoms (i.e., low mood, energy, motivation)
• Procrastination, missed deadlines, and impaired performance at work or school
• Social withdrawal, self-isolation, or strained relationships
• Difficulty making decisions, solving problems, and taking action
• Persistent feelings of dissatisfaction, anger, or frustration with oneself

Causes & Risk Factors of Atelophobia

Sometimes, atelophobia develops in response to a distressing experience involving a mistake. This mistake could be one the person made themselves or someone else.^3,5,9 The negative experiences can impress upon the person the importance of avoiding making similar mistakes in the future. In other instances, the symptoms of atelophobia can seem to show up out of nowhere in the absence of a specific negative experience.

From a social perspective, it’s also possible that perfectionistic traits and tendencies can be modeled and ‘learned’ from parents or other influential role models. For example, having a parent with a perfectionistic or type A personality can cause a person to develop more of these traits in childhood. Parenting styles that are overly strict or authoritarian can have a similar effect, causing children to strive for perfectionism to avoid the consequences of making a mistake.^3,5

Risk factors for developing atelophobia include:

• Having a family history of anxiety
• Being diagnosed with another mental illness
• Experiencing trauma in childhood
• Having a highly neurotic, conscientious, and agreeable personality
• Experiencing high levels of chronic stress or hardship⁵

How Is Atelophobia Diagnosed?

Atelophobia, like all mental health conditions, can only be diagnosed by a licensed mental health or medical provider. The diagnosis is typically made by gathering information about mental health symptoms, history, prior treatment, and current symptoms and routines, which can all be used to formulate a diagnosis of atelophobia. To be diagnosed with atelophobia, a person’s symptoms must be severe enough to interfere with their quality of life or ability to function.

According to the DSM 5, diagnosis criteria for a specific phobia, such as atelophobia, involves:²

• A persistent fear that occurs when a person encounters or anxiously anticipates a specific object or situation
• Immediate symptoms of anxiety almost always occur when encountering the feared object or situation
• The fear response is disproportionate to the actual danger of the situation
• The feared situation or object is avoided or endured with intense distress
• The avoidance, anticipation, or distress experienced before or during the situation interferes significantly with the person’s routine, work, relationships, or social activities
• The fear is persistent and occurs for at least six months

Atelophobia Treatment

After a diagnosis is made, the provider will review it with the patient and review treatment options. Certain phobia treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy can help people with atelophobia develop new, healthier thoughts and behaviors. The treatment plan for atelophobia involves therapy, and in some cases, anti-anxiety medication is also prescribed to help manage symptoms.(FN1 FN3 FN4)

Effective therapy options for atelophobia include:^1,4

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety
• Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for anxiety
• Exposure therapy for anxiety
• Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR)

When to Seek Professional Support

If you are struggling with atelophobia symptoms, don’t wait for things to get worse before reaching out for professional help. Many people make the mistake of waiting for their symptoms to become debilitating before scheduling an appointment with a therapist. Atelophobia, like many mental health conditions, is easiest to treat early on when symptoms are more mild. More severe symptoms can be more resistant to treatments like therapy and medication, requiring longer and more invasive treatments.

Finding a therapist who is trained, experienced, and has an approach and style that matches your personality is important and offers the best chances for a successful recovery. Many people find it helpful to use an online therapist directory that allows them to narrow their search by location, insurance, and specialty.

How to Overcome Atelophobia

It is usually possible to overcome atelophobia. Some do so on their own, but many find it helpful to enlist the help of a licensed therapist or counselor. A strong support system, a healthy routine, and a set of effective coping skills can help people further their recovery from atelophobia.^1,3,4

Here are seven tips on how to overcome atelophobia:

1. Enlist Professional Help From a Therapist

A skilled therapist with experience treating specific phobias can be an incredibly strong ally in the fight against atelophobia. A good therapist can help you understand your symptoms, identify your triggers, and develop healthier ways to cope with them. In therapy, you can also learn how to deal with the self-critical thoughts, anxious feelings, and perfectionistic urges that fuel your atelophobia. Finding a therapist who specializes in treating anxiety disorders, specific phobias, and perfectionism is recommended.

2. Challenge Unhelpful Thought Patterns

All people who struggle with atelophobia have irrational thoughts, beliefs, and concerns that feed into their fears and drive their perfectionistic behaviors. Learning how to identify and challenge these cognitive distortions can empower people with the disorder to better manage their symptoms.⁶ This skill is borrowed from CBT, which is one of the most effective forms of therapy for anxiety and phobias.⁴

Here are some simple ways to challenge negative self-talk in atelophobia:

• Change ‘What if…’ thoughts to “Even if…’ thoughts to reduce unproductive worry
  Example: ‘What if I forget part of the presentation tomorrow?’ → ‘Even if I forget something in tomorrow’s presentation, I can follow up via email to the participants’
• List the proof for and against a certain belief, thought, or fear
  Example: Looking at your performance evaluation, productivity, and stats to evaluate whether or not you’re doing well at your job
• Think of what you’d say to someone else in your shoes to get a more objective view
  Example: Imagining your best friend was in the same situation and asked for your input or advice 
• Challenge the assumption that being ‘perfect’ is what you want
  Example: Considering that being ‘too perfect’ could backfire by making you more annoying, unapproachable, or intimidating to others

3. Use Mindfulness to Get Out of Your Head

People with atelophobia spend way too much time in their heads analyzing themselves and their performance and coming up with ways to lessen the risk of failing. At a certain point, thinking and analyzing becomes unproductive, even feeding into the symptoms of atelophobia.⁶ Mindfulness exercises for anxiety are one of the best, fastest, and most effective remedies for overthinking and rumination and can be practiced in as little as 15-20 minutes per day.^8,9

Mindfulness is the practice of paying full attention to things happening in the present moment rather than being distracted by the thoughts and stories in your mind. Keep in mind that it’s normal for your mind to wander back to your thoughts during mindfulness, so be patient with yourself and gently bring your attention back when it drifts. This gets easier over time as you practice, which also means it will be easier to redirect your attention away from the unhelpful thoughts that feed your phobia.

Here are some simple ways to begin a mindfulness practice for people who struggle with atelophobia:

• Download a mindfulness app, such as Calm or Headspace, and opt into reminders to use it daily
• Do a search for free guided meditations online & select one you like
• Devote 15 minutes each day to focusing on your body, breath, or five senses
• Practice giving your full, undivided attention to a task or activity you’re doing

4. Loosen Up & Make More Mistakes

People with atelophobia go to great lengths to avoid making mistakes, even small and unimportant ones. Over time, these efforts can reinforce the irrational fear of consequences if they mess up, which only makes their anxiety, perfectionism, and avoidance worse.⁸

To break free from this symptom feedback loop, it’s necessary to gradually face fears and triggers that are normally avoided. This triggers a desensitization process that helps the person feel more confident and less afraid.⁸

Here are some examples of ways to desensitize yourself to the fear of imperfection:

• Send emails without double-checking your spelling or grammar
• Limit the amount of time you spend preparing or rehearsing for something
• Filter less of what you say and allow more ‘thinking out loud’
• Be willing to try something new without excessive research or practice beforehand
• Practice making small, unimportant decisions more quickly & without input from others

5. Spend Quality Time With Close Friends & Family

Since atelophobia involves social fears of being blamed or criticized for mistakes and imperfections, some with the disorder begin to isolate and withdraw from family and friends. Social isolation tends to make atelophobia and perfectionism worse by providing more time for unhealthy rumination and worry, enabling rigid routines, and limiting chances to practice social skills and assertive communication.^6,8,9

Spending more time with close friends and family can help facilitate atelophobia recovery in several ways, promoting healthier thought and behavior patterns. Spending more time with others can expose them to new, healthier perspectives and help them relax some of the rigid standards they’ve held themselves to. For example, seeing a loved one respond lovingly when they make a mistake or having a sense of humor when they make mistakes can reinforce healthier approaches to life.⁷

6. Improve Self-Care & Self-Compassion

Most people with atelophobia are really hard on themselves, relentlessly criticizing and blaming themselves when they make a mistake.⁶ While some might believe that being hard on themselves is motivating, there is research to suggest this isn’t true. Studies have shown that self-compassion is far more motivating than self-criticism and that self-compassionate people are less stressed, more productive, and more successful.⁷

Self-compassion goes hand-in-hand with self-care, which involves how you attend to and nurture your physical and emotional needs. In this way, self-care could be considered one of the most important ways you demonstrate your self-compassion through specific tasks, activities, and routines that keep you healthy and happy.^7,9 Being more consistent with daily self-care is one of the best ways to advance your recovery from atelophobia, which often leads to extreme self-neglect.

Here are some simple steps to stop beating yourself up and improve your self-care:

• Make a daily list of 3 things you’re proud of or feel good about doing
• Set aside time regularly for enjoyable hobbies or creative outlets
• Reframe past mistakes to find the ‘lesson’ or ‘silver lining’
• Write yourself an apology letter for the ways you’ve mistreated yourself in the past
• Make a list of personal weaknesses and identify how each could also be a strength

7. Develop Healthy & More Flexible Routines

Healthy habits and routines are an essential part of any recovery plan, but the specific ingredients of a healthy routine vary from person to person. For people with atelophobia, developing a daily routine with some flexibility and variability is usually helpful. This helps to counteract the rigid and overly structured routines that can develop when the person’s fear is driving, as well as helping to build up more self-confidence.^6,8

Here are some suggestions for ways to make routines more flexible:

• Adjust your normal scheduled activities to 30 minutes sooner or later than usual
• Try a new recipe, dish, or restaurant once per week to add more variety to your diet
• Attempt a new hobby, activity, or DIY project (and limit the amount of prep time for it)
• Take a long lunch break and explore a new restaurant, park, or shop in your town
• Take an unplanned, spontaneous, or spur-of-the-moment day trip on a day off from work