Imposter syndrome. What it is, how does it play out, what’s the different trends and behaviours and then what you can do to help yourself. Imposter syndrome does involve feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite your education, experience, and accomplishments. To counter these feelings, you might end up working harder and holding yourself to ever higher standards. Denise will talk about this in her interview shortly.
Many people who have imposter syndrome grew up in families that stressed achievement and success. If your parents went back and forth between overpraise and criticism, you may be more likely to have feelings of being a fraud later in life. Society’s pressures to achieve can also contribute. It can come when high value on achievement was rooted in your childhood. Some parents are very focused on results rather than effort which can cause people to be hard on themselves.
People with imposter syndrome are unable to internalise success. For example, an actor may have earned all sorts of awards naming them Actor of the Year but still cannot shake an inner sense of feeling like a fraud. They might think to themselves that these awards are all just luck or that they managed to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes the last few years but will soon be found out as nothing more than a fraud
What is important is to not get stuck in the thought of ‘I can’t do this,’ but making sure that you take action and move forward.
Some things I hear people with Imposter Syndrome says are:
“I got lucky.”
“I don’t belong here.”
“I’m a fraud, and it’s just a matter of time before everyone finds out.”
Imposter syndrome is a pattern of self-doubt that can lead to anxiety, stress and missed opportunities
anxiety, worry, and unworthiness.
