Emotional Perfectionism, Part One: Making sure you feel the "right" things, not the real things I define emotional perfectionism as the rigid habit of feeling what one "should feel" in order to satisfy the real or perceived expectations of others. It is a sub-type of General Perfectionism, where behaviors and expressions are tailored to meet external expectations. This is a codependency behavior designed to help procure safety, belonging, and worth. Emotional perfectionism shows up a...