It’s just that, one way or the other, perfectionism will find a way to sneak up on you and make you feel inadequate. No matter how well you do, that pesky little voice inside keeps telling you:

“You can do better.”

Struggling to identify the source of these emotions, cope with their effects, and overcome the pressure they’re putting you under? This guide is for you!

Read on and discover how to kick perfectionism to the curb—once and for all!

The causes and effects of perfectionism

Every single thing about you is amazing. Yet, you don’t believe that to be true.

Why is that?

Or, rather, why do you feel the absolute necessity to be flawless at all times?

One common reason is the high expectations. These may be set by your parents, teachers, or even yourself. When you fail to meet them—let alone exceed them—you can find yourself feeling like a failure.

Social media can also be to blame. Instagram and TikTok make it seem as if everyone has the perfect body, perfect grades, and perfect lives as a whole. You don’t, so you think to yourself:

”I’m not enough and am surely doing something wrong.”

If not treated, perfectionism can seriously impact your mental health and well-being, leading to:

• Stress and anxiety
• Low self-esteem
• Burnout
• Social isolation

How perfectionism impacts the mental health of teenage girls

Perfectionism influences the mental well-being of teenage girls in particular, according to a study on the National Library of Medicine’s website.

When trying to be perfect—constantly—you’ll find yourself fixating on every little thing. This can make it hard to relax and may lead to long-term stress and anxiety so overwhelming that they prevent you from enjoying life, let alone getting a good night’s sleep.

At the same time, anything short of what you deem “perfect” can make you feel inadequate. You might start questioning your skills—even in areas where you excel.

There’s also burnout, caused by the pressure to do everything right, that depletes your energy.

Finally, perfectionism can also cause you to feel isolated socially. You might find it hard to unwind and be genuine around others, leading to skipping social gatherings because you’re afraid people will judge you.

How to cultivate a healthier mindset

We’ve talked about how perfectionism can mess with your mind and life.

Now, let’s get into how to start thinking in a way that’s healthier and way less stressful.

#1 Embrace imperfection

Nobody’s perfect, neither physically nor mentally, and that’s what makes us human. Seriously. We all make mistakes, too. So, if a mistake does happen, try to see it as an opportunity to learn rather than a failure.

#2 Set realistic goals

Instead of aiming for perfection, try setting realistic and achievable goals. Break things down into smaller, manageable steps. This way, you can celebrate the small victories along the way, which helps build confidence and reduces stress.

#3 Surround yourself with positive people

Hang out with true friends who support you and make you feel good about yourself. Say somebody in your life was constantly putting you down or making you feel inferior. It might be time to set some boundaries or cut ties with them.

#4 Seek help when needed

Many young people experience difficult times. In fact, a recent study from 2019 in Georgia showed that 30% of high school students in this state reported feeling sad or hopeless in their everyday lives. While this is a concerning number, it can show you that you are not alone and should ask for help when you need it.

Sometimes, just talking to a friend or a family member can make a world of difference. They can offer support and help you gain perspective. However, when just talking with a loved one is not enough, seeking professional help might be necessary. Understanding the severity of the ongoing situation and the need for professional help, Georgia provides various resources to help residents cope with the pressure of perfectionism. As one of the more prominent mental health centers in the state, Time Wellness Georgia, offers free consultations, has modern facilities, and uses evidence-based therapies to help you deal with any issue you might have.

#5 Practice self-compassion

Be kind to yourself. If you wouldn’t say something harsh to a friend, don’t say it to yourself.

So, when you feel that critical voice popping up, tell yourself something positive, like:

• “I’m doing my best,”
• or “It’s okay to make mistakes.”

#6 Focus on your strengths

Take some time to think about what you’re really good at and what you enjoy doing. Focus on these strengths rather than fixating on your perceived weaknesses. Everyone has unique talents and abilities—celebrate yours!

Don’t let the pressure of perfectionism steer you down!

Being perfect is overrated and, honestly, impossible. So, to truly stop the pressure of perfectionism from being so pressuring, it’s time to embrace who you are. Flaws and all. Celebrate your wins, surround yourself with good people, and don’t be afraid of mistakes! After all, they help shape you into a wiser you. Of course, if things get tough, get help. But also remember that perfectionism doesn’t define you. You do. So, go out there and live your life on your terms. Kick perfectionism to the curb and be the amazing, unique person you are.

Sources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9125265/

https://namiga.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2022/01/MHD-Green-Day-at-the-Capitol-2022-Final.pdf

https://gacoeonline.gsu.edu/gmap/ 

The post Navigating Perfectionism: A Guide for Teen Girls appeared first on GirlSpring.

Ice Cream Personality Quiz

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2024 Paris Olympics Quiz

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Girls ages 13-18, who will be in 7th-12th grade for the 2023-2024 school year, are invited to join us for an interactive, get-to-know you session and learn more about what GirlSpring is all about! The Springboarders group works together to create content (articles, artwork, poetry) for our by girls for girls website, which is a safe, online platform for girls to share and learn from each other. Girls also help plan programs for their peers, like our annual STEM Fair, events with women leaders, and volunteer days throughout the year.
At this event, the Springboarders will have icebreakers and get to know you games, plus snacks and more, while giving an overview of the program!

August 26 | 2PM-4PM

Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest | 1221 Montgomery Highway, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216

THIS EVENT HAS ENDED
You can also learn more about the Springboarders here. 

The post GirlSpring Teen Leaders Group Kick-Off & Recruitment! appeared first on GirlSpring.

How Well Do You Know Taylor Swift Music?

Think you know the pop star's music down to a T? Test out your T. Swift knowledge here.

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One interesting fact about honey is that it doesn’t spoil and is used frequently as a more natural, healthier substitute for sugar. Other things honey can do are beneficial to your health. With society’s focus more on clean and organic beauty products, more people are discovering the benefits that raw honey has for multiple uses.

Want to know what honey can do for you? Below are many ways to use honey for your skin, hair, and more.

Honey for Skin

Honey is found in many makeup products, including those for the skin. It’s a base ingredient due to its ability to help seep into the skin and moisturize. In addition, the enzymes penetrate and soothe it to condition and soften. Here are some ways to use honey for your skin:

Exfoliation

Raw honey helps to remove dead skin cells and leave your skin looking brighter and smoother.  Mixing honey with baking soda and rubbing on damp skin, then rinsing, will help exfoliate your skin and give a lovely, glowing complexion.

For Burns

Raw honey can help treat burns. It provides healing and reduces inflammation, giving nutrition to damaged tissues. To gain the most benefits, mix honey with aloe vera gel to effectively treat sunburns and burns naturally.

Pore Cleansing & Acne Treatment

Honey can help cleanse your pores and eliminate blackheads. It has antioxidant and antibacterial properties, removing dirt from your pores and helping clear up acne and fade acne scars. Mix raw honey with some coconut or jojoba oil and apply to clean, dry skin for ten minutes, then rinse with water.

Scar Treatment and Wound Healing

With its natural moisturizing capabilities and antibiotic properties, honey helps keep skin soft and also aids in lightening the look of scars. It also helps your wounds because it is antiviral, antimicrobial, and antifungal. So, it can be beneficial to your skin wounds, specifically after you undergo a chemical peel or laser skin removal, where your skin barrier is affected.

Since it works as an anti-inflammatory, it can help repair your damaged skin and heal it more quickly. Mix honey with coconut or olive oil and massage over the scar, then treat with hot or very warm water.

Honey For Hair

It may not be a surprise that honey can help treat your hair, but numerous benefits accompany it. There are multiple dermatological advantages to using raw honey alongside regular hair care products.

Hair Growth

Since honey already promotes skin growth, the scalp can also be part of this process. Your scalp is made up of tons of skin cells that contribute to hair growth, so applying honey to your scalp products can promote more rapid repair of those cells, making your hair grow longer. Mix raw honey with a bit of water and massage it into your scalp, then leave for a couple of minutes before rinsing.

Hair Conditioning

Look for nourishing honey shampoo and conditioner since those products that have raw honey as an ingredient are the best for cleansing and restoring moisture to your hair. There are also plenty of minerals, vitamins, and other helpful elements so that your hair becomes soft, shiny, and healthy.

Emollients and humectant properties in honey help smooth your hair follicles and put more shine to dull hair while also adding moisture. As a result, your hair will be more lustrous, smooth, and noticeably healthier.

Prevents Hair Breakage

Honey contains proteins, which add structure and strength to your hair. It helps to restore the weak and brittle ends of your hair. Mix honey with just a little water and massage it into the ends of your hair, then rinse clean.

Prevents Hair Loss

While hair shedding is not uncommon, some people can be concerned when seeing their hair shed more than usual. If you’re losing more hair than you would like, damage to your hair could be a significant contributor.

Since honey helps reduce hair breakage and cleans hair follicles by ridding impurities within your scalp, it helps to minimize clogging, a primary factor in hair loss. In addition, it stimulates regrowth from dormant follicles.

Other Honey Benefits

Some evidence suggests that honey can help reduce your risk for skin cancer and other cancers. There are positive results from these studies of using honey on cancer cells, showing its ability to help slow the growth and reproduction of cancerous cells in the body.

Besides helping just brighten your complexion and help reduce the look of scars, it can help minimize sun spots and even improve signs of aging, so using it when you’re young keeps your skin staying young by preventing new wrinkles.

Not all honey is created equal, so be aware of this when using honey in your beauty routine. Raw or manuka honey is best to ensure you gain the most benefits. It absorbs water to hydrate your skin and hair, making it ideal if you suffer from chronic skin or hair problems.

Raw honey has micronutrients and vitamins like B and magnesium. Honey also plays a significant role in stabilizing your blood sugar, even though it is sweet. It has the lowest glycemic load, so it doesn’t spike your blood sugar like other sweeteners.

When ingested, raw honey is an excellent source of prebiotic fiber to help nourish good bacteria within your microbiome. Honey may even help provide weight loss benefits due to its effect on hunger and offers positive and nutritional health effects.

Staying Safe When Using Honey

If you have allergies, it is important to test a small part of your skin before applying honey all over your body’s areas. You should also ensure that if you use it on your skin or hair, you cleanse and remove it completely. If it remains on your body, it can trap dirt (as well as become very sticky) and may cause more problems.

Honey provides several benefits for your hair, skin, and more. It has natural antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and health properties to treat skin conditions and hair problems. Of course, talking to your doctor before you use honey within your beauty routine would be most helpful, but the many advantages can help improve your skin, hair, and health over time.

The post Healing Benefits of Honey for Skin, Hair, & More! appeared first on GirlSpring.

Yet, according to the same article above it’s also more difficult for women to build credit compared to men. They’re even less successful in negotiating lower interest rates. Still, women shouldn’t back down from a challenge and we can take advantage of factors we can manipulate — such as our credit scores. After all, a high credit score is an irrefutable fact of good credit habits.

That said, here are simple tips and tricks you can use to improve yours.

What is a credit score?

Credit scores allow creditors to better assess your reliability when it comes to making payments on time. This determines whether they give you credit, under what terms, and on what interest. As such, it makes it easier for you to make bigger transactions — such as taking out a loan, renting a house, or getting better insurance rates.

USA.gov lists down factors that affect your credit score: outstanding balances, length of credit history, applications for new credit accounts, and variations in types of credit accounts. When raising your credit score and improving your track record in the eyes of creditors, it’s important to take all of these into account.

How to improve your credit score

Checking credit reports

Your credit report has information about your credit activity and current credit situation, including your loan payment history and the status of your credit accounts. It is important to review and understand your credit report regularly, and to make sure that the information is up-to-date and accurate. Singapore financial advice can help you with understanding your credit report and making sense of it.—But there are instances wherein your credit report might contain inaccurate information that will affect your credit score. This is why it’s good to check your credit report yearly, as you are entitled to review them for free every 12 months. This helps you detect potential errors, prevent identity theft or credit card fraud, and spot mistakes that might be hurting your score. It takes no longer than 10 minutes and can save you a lot of time and trouble later on if there is an issue.

Paying bills on time

Your payment history determines 35% of your credit score, which means that failing to pay your bills on time can compromise your credibility. Even missing a payment by 30 days can lower your credit score by as much as 100 points. One of AskMoney’s credit score tips for reversing a bad score is to stay on top of your bills. Simply paying your bills on time for 6 months can seriously improve your credit score. You can also take measures to avoid missing payments by setting up reminders or opting for auto-pay.

Reducing credit limit use

Credit utilization, which is your balance divided by your credit limit, is a part of the amount owed component that takes up 30% of your credit score. A lower balance will result in a lower credit utilization rate, which positively affects your credit score. Our article on the ‘Important Things to Keep In Mind When Managing Your Own Money’ explains that you should avoid building debt that you can’t handle. This is why it’s a good idea to spend only what you’re capable of paying.

Paying your bills in full

In line with your credit utilization and balance, there have been some contradicting opinions about whether you should pay your credit card bills in full or leave a balance. But financial educator Tiffany Aliche advises that your credit score will fare better by paying in full. Paying your bills in full not only improves your credit score but also saves you the time and trouble from catching up with your balance later on.

For women, having their financial security affected by the current gender wage gap should do little to impact their decision-making with money. Because while bad credit can be a huge disadvantage to your lifestyle and spending there are always ways to be resourceful about manipulating it, such as by raising your credit score.

The post What Teens Need to Know About Credit Scores appeared first on GirlSpring.

This year, Spring Break has transformed into self-quarantine. Although this is far from ideal, we have no option but to do the best with what we have. Additionally, it is very important to adhere to social distancing and self-quarantining as advised by the CDC and World Health Organization. So, while we have this time at home, here are a few examples of how to spend it.

How to Spring Break the Quarantine Way

Fall in love with a new podcast

Regardless of the mood you are in, there is a podcast to fit. Browse the most recent or popular on your podcast app, or do a search for the type of podcast you feel like listening to.

Get lost in a book

It is easy to get away from the habit of wanting to read. However, once you finish the first page of a great book, it only gets easier from there. Reading is a great way to escape, learn, and relate.

Binge Watch

A countless amount of television content is available to us. Failing to find something to watch is almost impossible these days. Sink in to the couch and kick your feet up!

Get Crafty

The great thing about creating art is that there are no rules. Therefore, you have full reign over your projects. Go crazy, try something new, and don’t be afraid to fail. Simply because you can’t.

Do a closet clean-out!

Take a look at your closet. If you need more space, try to minimize the amount of clothing you have but don’t use. When sorting through your clothes, ask yourself which items give you joy. There are many people who could use the items you no longer want.

Check out GirlSpring.com for more!

The post Spring Break: Quarantine Edition appeared first on GirlSpring.

Special Thanks to our many supporters who made it possible:

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama
• Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham
• Junior League Birmingham, Beeson Community Fund
• Medical Properties Trust, Inc.

Download our app today in the App Store or on Google Play

Learn more about Lauren and her creative skills here!

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