Perfectionism as a personality trait is strongly associated with mortality in late life. After baseline assessment of health and personality traits as predictors of mortality, 450 participants in a study in The Netherlands were followed over a period of 6.5 years. Findings demonstrated that risk of death was significantly greater for high scorers in perfectionism and neuroticism, compared to low scorers at the time of base line. Conversely, risk of death was significantly lower for high scorers in conscientiousness, extraversion and optimism. This study was reported in the latest issue of the Journal of Health Psychology.
As I have personally observed over the years with so many of my patients, perfectionism leads to the body being in a continual state of tension or hyperarousal, eventually resulting in physical exhaustion. Negative emotional states also result in metabolic changes and can create an inflammatory response.
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