Yuxin Sun, a psychologist in Seattle, sees many clients in her associate practice who insist they are not perfectionists. “'Oh, I'm not perfect. I'm far from perfect,'” they tell her.But perfectionism isn't about being the best at a certain goal, Dr. Sun said, "it's the feeling of never getting to that point, of never feeling good enough, of never feeling adequate." And this can create a harsh inner voice that belittles and chastises us.Perfectionism is so pervasive that there is a test to measure it: the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale. When researchers examined how college students responded to the scale's questions over time, they found that rates of perfectionism have increased in recent decades, skyrocketing between 2006 and 2022.Thomas Curran, an ...