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Perfectionism, depression and anxiety in chronic fatigue syndrome: A systematic review, 2020, Cherry et al

Discussion in 'Psychosomatic research - ME/CFS and Long Covid' started by Andy, Dec 6, 2020.

  1. Woolie

    Woolie Senior Member

    Messages:
    2,918
    I meant to add that I consider "maladaptive" be similarly valenced.

    The thing that bothers me about terms such as "maladaptive" is that they fail to respect the inherent intelligence and agency of human beings, our capacity to come up with ways of dealing with our own problems and limitations. Sure, perhaps we don't always find the optimal solution, but we are still always actively looking for solutions. A person who feels compelled to clean their entire house before leaving for work each day might be distressed by the time this takes, and about the costs to their overall quality of life, but the behavior itself might be an intelligent way to minimise distressing and consuming thoughts and fears.

    The question should never be whether a behaviour or tendency is maladaptive, it should always be whether the person is deeply distressed by it or if it impedes their everyday functioning or prevents them from attaining their wider goals.

    And then the immediate next question should always be whether there are any reasonable alternatives available to that person, given their particular psychological make-up, and their circumstances (if there aren't, then stfu).
     

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