Thomas Curran: Our dangerous obsession with perfectionism is getting worse
توماس كوران: هوسنا الخطير بالكمالية يزداد سوءًا
Thomas Curran studies the personality characteristic of perfectionism, how it develops and its impact on mental health. Full bio
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have you heard that one?
or perhaps with family at Thanksgiving.
أو مع العائلة في عيد الشكر.
at job interviews:
خلال مقابلات العمل:
that supposedly holds us back,
أن يكون عائقًا أمامنا،
are quite happy to hold our hands up
يفرح بقوله
and serious point
for perfection is so pervasive
للكمال منتشر للغاية
that concept in its own terms.
وما يحمل من مفاهيم
of celebration in perfection?
as an insignia of worth.
على الاستحقاق
that perfectionists are more successful.
أن الأشخاص الكماليين أكثر نجاحًا
that they're never quite perfect enough.
بأنهم غير مثاليين كفاية
الطبيب السريري
a host of psychological difficulties,
المتاعب النفسية
anxiety, anorexia, bulimia
وفقدان الشهية والنُهام
is that over the last 25 years,
ال25 سنة الماضية
at an alarming rate.
among young people than ever before.
بين الشباب أكثر من قبل
across the last two decades.
العقدين الماضيين
emerge across Canada,
تظهر في كندا
the United Kingdom.
المملكة المتحدة
as society is changing.
a changed sense of personal identity
فكرة الهوية الشخصية
in which young people interact
التي يتفاعل الشباب
about our preeminent, market-based society
بشدة على السوق
like unrestricted choice
كالخيار المطلق
that we feel are contributing
تساهم
في هذه المشكلة
with the attainment of the perfect life
الحياة المثالية
status and wealth.
في آواخر الثمنينات
to report being materially rich
and their grandparents.
than did older generations,
فعلت الأجيال القديمة
of their income on image goods
سلع المظاهر
their lives and their lifestyles
حياتهم وأسلوب حياتهم
on the ubiquitous social media platforms
التواصل الإجتماعي المنتشرة في كل مكان
is far more important than the reality.
furnished for young people
a perfectible life
للكمال موجودة
for those who want it badly enough.
لهؤلاء الذين يريدونه بشدة
of the American dream.
the self-made person, hard work.
الشخص الذي يصنع نفسه بنفسه والعمل الجاد
that we're captains of our own destiny.
يتحكم في مصيره
our wealth, our status
personal value.
equality of opportunity,
of our own destiny
يتحكم في مصيره
reality for young people
ongoing economic tribunal.
for which merit can be quantified
تعزيزها
into schools, classes and colleges.
وفصول وجامعات
is so publicly played out
and performance.
big city high schools
أكبر المدن الأمريكية
and the end of 12th grade.
a strong need to strive,
at the center of modern life.
to define themselves
of grades, percentiles and lead tables.
والنسبة المئوية وطاولة المتنافسين
on their insecurities.
how they are performing
to other people.
their imperfections.
more perfectly next time, or else,
المرة التالية وإلا
is especially pervasive --
منتشر بكثرة
as that Instagram influencer,
على الإنستغرام
of perfectionism firsthand.
in my mind very vividly.
بعقلي بشكل واضح جدًا
he was exceptionally high-achieving,
grades for his work.
his successes as abject failures,
how he'd let himself and others down.
than other people
his unrelenting work ethic,
وأخلاقيات عمله الصارمة
what he saw as his inner weakness
to the harmfulness of perfectionism
خباثة الكمالية
perfecting things or perfecting tasks.
أو إتقان المهام
is about perfecting the self.
perfecting an imperfect self.
like a mountain of achievement
to imagine ourselves scaling.
"Once I've reached that summit,
and I'll be worth something."
lowlands of insecurity and shame,
والخجل
a perfectionist just cannot step off.
الشخص الكمالي لا يستطيع أن يتوقف
to a host of psychological problems,
a good way to measure it.
Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett,
بول هيويت وجوردن فليت
a self-report measure of perfectionism.
you can measure this,
يمكنك قياسها
three core elements of perfectionism.
أساسية من الكمالية
prescribed perfectionism,
is excessively demanding:
are too demanding of me."
other-oriented perfectionism,
standards on other people:
I expect it to be done perfectly."
أن يقوم بفعله بشكل مثالي"
three elements of perfectionism
الكمالية الثلاثة
like heightened depression,
كالإكتئاب المتصاعد
element of perfectionism
الكمالية التي تشكل خطر
expects me to be perfect.
with serious mental illness.
at the forefront of my mind,
في تفكيري
elements of perfectionism were changing.
هذه قد تغيرت
is focused on immediate family relations,
على العلاقات العائلية المباشرة
at a broader level.
that had ever been collected
developed that perfectionism measure,
بول وجوردن لقياسات الكمالية
in college students.
more than 40,000 young people
and British colleges,
والبريطانية
we looked to see if there was a trend.
ألقينا نظرة لنرى إن كان هناك اتجاه
more than three years
من 3 سنوات
crunch the numbers,
ونفحص الأرقام
uncovered something alarming.
كشفت شيء خطير
have increased over time.
زادت مع الوقت
saw the largest increase, and by far.
النصيب الأكبر من الزيادة
report clinically relevant levels
بمستويات مماثلة
typically see in clinical populations.
في التعداد الإكلنيكي
had doubled to 18 percent.
based on the models that we tested
الأمثلة التي إختبرناها
in three young people
of socially prescribed perfectionism.
للكمالية المفروضة مجتمعيًا
of perfectionism
with serious mental illness,
النفسية الخطيرة
feel a unrelenting need
هي الحاجة القاسية
yesterday's expectation of perfection,
to an even higher degree
لدرجات أعلى
that the better they do,
إن أنجزوا بشكل أفضل
of helplessness and, worse, hopelessness.
والسوء وفقدان الأمل
hold on to certain things --
يتمسكوا بأشياء معينة
conscientious and hardworking.
وواعون ومجتهدون
when things don't go well,
لا تسير الأمور بشكل جيد
into greater personal peace and success.
سلام شخصي ونجاح أفضل
we can do as caregivers.
in our formative years,
when they've tried but failed.
لكنهم أخفقوا
their understandable urge
إلحاحهم المنطقي
to helicopter-parent,
للآباء المدللين
successes and failures as their own.
كنجاحهم أو فشلهم
raises important questions
on competition, evaluation and testing
والتقييم والإختبار
for public figures to say
a little bit more resilience
من المرونة أكثر
and unprecedented pressures.
washing our hands of the core issue
صلب المشكلة
in which young people need less perfection
الشباب لمثالية أقل
is an enormous challenge,
in the 24/7 spotlight
تحت أضواء
والتواصل الإجتماعي
to other people.
from that mountaintop,
but to try scaling that peak again.
يحاولوا الصعود لتلك القمة مجددًا
up and down the same mountain
وهي صعود ونزول الجبل ذاته
was a man called Sisyphus,
شخص يدعى سيسيفوس
the same boulder up a hill,
الصخرة ذاتها لأعلى تلة
and have to start again.
أن يبدأ من جديد
or meaningful in their lives
في حياتهم
future generations
fundamentally inhuman
escape the trap of perfectionism,
يهربوا من فخ الكمالية
that in a chaotic world,
لكن لا بأس من ذلك
outgrow this self-defeating snare
فخ تدمير الذات
that has outgrown that very same delusion.
to enjoy mental, emotional
to celebrate the joys
of everyday living and loving.
المرء وما يحبه
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Thomas Curran - Social and personality psychologistThomas Curran studies the personality characteristic of perfectionism, how it develops and its impact on mental health.
Why you should listen
Social and personality psychologist Thomas Curran is a member of the Centre for Motivation and Health Behavior Change in Bath, UK; the Motivation, Personality, and Well-being research group in York, UK; and is currently an assistant professor in the Department for Health at the University of Bath. His research rose to prominence following a 2017 publication of the first systems-level cohort study to show that perfectionism is on the rise in American, Canadian and British college students. Since then, he has written and spoken extensively on how we have created societies perfectly calibrated to promote perfectionism, which is contributing to almost epidemic levels of serious mental illness among young people. Curran is the author of over 30 published papers and has received numerous awards for his scholarship and research.
Thomas Curran | Speaker | TED.com