Exaggeration is one of the core features of perfectionism and, more broadly, of obsessiveness. The neutral is exaggerated along with the objectively good and bad. When hearing about a patient’s conflicts and trials, therapists, at some point, may ask, “How much of this has you in it, whether your manifest contribution or interpretation?”

With the space to reflect, some discover how their minds inform the drama of their lives. They may recognize that something they said was insensitive or that they completely misunderstood the intent of something done to them. Deeper, they may note a chronic pattern of perceiving their lives in extremes and finding so much meaning in the smallest elements.

Exaggeration is evident in body dysmorphia, an emotional ailment marked by a fixation on one’s real or perceived physical flaws. Interestingly, it goes both ways. When comparing themselves to someone they believe to be aesthetically superior, the individual’s flaws are heightened while the purportedly superior one’s flaws are minimized (with the accompanying act of glamorizing their positive traits). Conversely, when comparing to someone they believe to be aesthetically inferior, the opposite is true: They magnify their positive traits, and the others’ flaws are seen to disqualify them altogether. Comparison, here, may be the thief of joy but also its harbinger. Most importantly, it’s, arguably,........

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