Perfection is a topic that people have pondered for centuries now. Some might even argue that it is something about human nature that drives us to think and strive for perfection. This thought continues to remain firm in modern society. We live in a world full of digitized perfection. Thanks to magazines and Photoshop, the negative effects of perfectionism have become increasingly evident. Over the years we have seen a decline in self-esteem and an increase in anxiety disorders. Some point the finger at the media for constantly showing images of models edited to look anything less than perfect. According to Merriam Webster's online dictionary, the medical definition of perfectionism is “a disposition to consider anything short of perfection unacceptable; in particular: the setting of unrealistically demanding objectives accompanied by the disposition to consider failure to achieve them as unacceptable and a sign of personal uselessness (Webster).” With such an unattainable disposition towards one's goals it is not surprising that problems can occur. However, what happens when perfectionism is combined with other personality traits. Is it possible that such a pairing could lead to perfectionism being less counterintuitive? Or could pairing perfectionism with the wrong trait cause devastating effects such as depression, anxiety disorders and eating disorders? While I wouldn't doubt the accuracy of the above definition of perfectionism, I cannot deny the fact that there is more to perfection than that. This thought is supported by the multidimensional perfectionism scale. The MPS is a scale that evaluates the areas of perfectionism and divides it into three groups. The first is self-oriented perfectionism. This... middle of the paper... ns are often very high and develop into something unattainable. The need for success of perfectionism combined with the emotional instability of neroticism creates a toxic mix in the face of failure. Failure to achieve one's goals can even drive a neurotic perfectionist to suicide. Even if we can't alleviate the situation, perfectionism can have a great influence on other aspects of our personality. It can influence us for better or worse. Understanding neurotic perfectionism can allow us, especially those who work in the mental health field, to understand and prevent the problems associated with it. Socially prescribed perfectionism, neurosis, and even just a hint of pressure from the media to look a certain way can quickly turn into a recipe for disaster. If you understand neurotic perfectionism it would not be difficult to understand how an eating disorder can develop.