"I will punish myself emotionally over and over again." Taylor Swift admits to being an over-thinking high achiever.

Image: Getty.

If you only had Instagram as a reference point, you’d be convinced Taylor Swift was the most confident, self-convicted woman on the planet.

She’s in the middle of an enormously successful stadium tour, is regularly flooded with messages and gifts from fans, has countless awards to her name, and she’s surrounded by a huge group of talented, supportive friends (and two very doting cats).

Who could possibly feel self-conscious in that position? Alas, it seems Swifty is just like the rest of us — well, except for, you know, the fame and the money and the superstar posse.

“I have days when I have healthy self-esteem and things are in a great place, and I have days where self-doubt is my primary emotion, and that’s okay because that means you’re living a human, emotional, unaffected life,” the 25-year-old admits in the latest issue of Vogue Australia, on sale today. (Post continues after gallery.)

Self-doubt is one thing, but it seems Swift can be pretty damn hard on herself despite her many successes. Over-achievers, does any of the following sound familiar to you…?

“When I think I haven’t done the right thing, haven’t done a good enough job, I will punish myself emotionally for it over and over again, going over it in my head,” she tells Vogue.

“I always have to work on being easier on myself, because over-thinking is my greatest adversary when it comes to life, work, love, friendship, career. I’ve been a bit better lately and realising when I’m having a low-self-esteem day that’s because of how I’m wired, not because everyone hates me.”

It’s surprising to hear this breed of candour from a celebrity, however it’s not the first time Swift has been open about her mental and emotional wellbeing. Earlier this month the Style singer admitted the constant scrutiny on her life, both the professional and the personal, can take a toll.

"I'm in the news every single day for multiple different reasons, and it can feel, at times, if you let your anxiety get the better of you, like everybody's waiting for you to really mess up — and then you'll be done," she told NME.

"A lot of the time I need to call my mum and talk for a really long time, just to remind myself of all the things that are great and all the things that matter. If you do something that defines your character to be not what the public thought you were, that's the biggest risk."

In her Vogue interview, Swift — who in recent months has received as much media coverage for her rapidly-swelling 'girl squad' as she has for her music — also expresses her love of being surrounded by other people. Surprising, I know.

"It's not something I can control; it's like a genetic part of my personality ... My greatest strength is not disliking new people or being around people, even if I don't know them," she tells the magazine.

"What you don't realise when getting into music is that a huge part of your job, your career and your industry is meeting people you've never met before, and having short conversations that have to be meaningful even though they're short."

If the way she interacts with her followers on social media is any indication, Swift has this whole 'creating rapport with perfect strangers' situation nailed. That's one thing she doesn't need to be beating herself up over.

Do you set high expectations for yourself? How do you cope if you don't satisfy them?