Striving to conceal

Perfectionism as a shield against existential vulnerability

Bibliographic Data

ID20480943
AuthorsPer‐Einar Binder (0000-0003-0867-0386, University of Bergen, corresponding author)
Year2025
Pages1-10
Publication date2025-10-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Forum of Psychoanalysis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0803-706X • E-ISSN: 1651-2324
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/0803706x.2025.2519779
OpenAlexW4414965262
LanguageEN
References cited25

Perfectionism among young people has risen markedly recently. This paper examines perfectionism as a defense against existential vulnerability, analyzing its emergence at the intersection of personal history, sociocultural forces, and fundamental existential concerns about meaning, mortality, and authentic connection. Drawing on Erich Fromm's social character theory, existential-intersubjective approaches, and critiques of neoliberal achievement society by Han, Strenger, and Rosa, it explores how perfectionism develops as both a shield against vulnerabilities and a mode of existence affecting relationships with self, others, and the world. Contemporary society's emphasis on competitive individualism, meritocracy, and self-optimization creates contexts where young people perceive external perfection demands while experiencing social disconnection. Through a case study of an economics student, the paper illustrates perfectionism's multiple psychological functions: protecting against shame and inadequacy while reinforcing the anxieties it attempts to resolve. The case reveals these themes in transference patterns and gradual movement from Fromm's “having mode” of defensive accumulation toward “being mode” characterized by authentic engagement. This demonstrates how addressing perfectionism requires multilevel therapeutic work: acknowledging existential vulnerabilities, fostering genuine relational experiences, and developing wisdom to navigate between excellence and authenticity. These insights suggest clinical approaches that help young people resist self-exploitative imperatives of accelerated modernity while cultivating meaningful connections and value-aligned action in achievement-oriented culture

Existentialism · Personality · Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies