Perfectionism can affect people of all ages and lifestyles, but it is increasingly prevalent among students. Earlier this year, research involving 40,000 students at universities in the UK, the US, and Canada found a 33 percent increase since 1989 in those who feel they must display perfection to secure approval. The report's lead author, Thomas Curran of the University of Bath, fears a "hidden epidemic of perfectionism."

Perfectionism is a personality trait rather than a mental health condition. There is no World Health Organization diagnosis code for perfectionism and it is not listed in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It can fly under the radar and masquerade as the pursuit of high standards, yet it overlaps with a plethora of disorders from eating to obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, body dysmorphia, depression and suicide. As one struggling perfectionist said, "My brain feels like it's been punched."