You are convinced that your achievements are nothing and everything you reached is just luck. When somebody praises you, you are sure that you don’t deserve the compliments. You don’t want anybody to see your shortcoming and painfully respond a criticism.
Have you ever felt like this? Have such words ever stormed your brain? If yes, you are not alone.
Michelle Pfeifer, a famous actress and producer awarded many accolades, once said, “I still think people will find out that I’m really not very talented. I’m really not very good. It’s all been a big sham.”
Professor of Psychology in California Gayle Matthews is convinced that 70% of successful people feel the same way. This phenomenon is called an imposter syndrome.
What is Imposter Syndrome?
What Does It Feel Like?
People who suffer from impostor syndrome have low self-esteem, fail to enjoy praise, and undervalue their professional achievements and skills.
An imposter syndrome feels like an inner voice in your head that whispers, “My success is not so valuable, it is just an accident”, “I do not deserve praise”, “There are a lot of real professionals, I’m not one of them”. It causes stress, anxiety, low self-confidence, shame and, in some cases, even depression.
What Can Make You Feel Like an Imposter?
Frequently, you can feel like an imposter when you don’t know your strengths and don’t consider them when choosing and building your career. However, even if you have chosen your profession right, there are certain cases when the syndrome is likely to turn on:
- Changes. When you decide to change something, for example, change your profession, accept a promotion, take up a new position or a new project, you exit a comfort zone and face uncertainty. This makes the imposter syndrome more likely to occur.
- Stereotypes. Stereotypes suppress self-belief and devalue success. If you think that you are worse than others, you fail to build confidence and progress.
- A high level of responsibility. The increase in the level of responsibility turns on feeling like an imposter too. Pressure and doubts increase when you do something very important.
- Previous failure. If you had a great failure in the past, e.g. dismissal or project failure, it will be much harder to tame your inner imposter. You should treat your failures as lessons that make you stronger, wiser and more experienced.
Who Suffers from Imposter Syndrome?
1. The Perfectionist
2. The Workaholic
3. The Expert
4. The Natural Genius
5. The Soloist
How to Deal with an Imposter Syndrome?
1. Find the aim
2. Raise your self-esteem
3. Keep track of your achievements
4. Let yourself be wrong
5. Analyze the example of successful people
6. Get curious about your feelings and thoughts
7. Balance your positive thinking
Imposter Syndrome F.A.Q
How do you deal with imposter syndrome?
Dealing with imposter syndrome isn’t easy. However, there are some things you can do in order to overcome its negative impact on your psychological well-being and quality of life.
According to APA’s recommendations, in order to overcome imposter feelings, first, you need to learn the facts. For instance, look for evidence that your success requires hard work and dedication to achieve.
Moreover, you should share your feelings with others and listen to what they say because you need objective information about your achievements.
Keep in mind that you should share some information about your failures too. But if none of this works, just learn to accept your imposter’s feelings.
How do you know if someone has imposter syndrome?
If you notice that someone lacks the ability to realistically assess their competence and skills, they might have imposter syndrome. However, it can be much more complicated than that.
In fact, if someone has imposter syndrome, they don’t accept their success and, instead of enjoying it, attribute it to some external factors. This means that they think they can’t meet their own expectations even when they are actually very successful.
As a result, people with imposter syndrome never feel satisfied.
What does imposter syndrome feel like?
Imposter syndrome feels like you don’t have enough competence and skills to achieve your goals and succeed. Even when you actually get the desired result, you might think that it happened because of some unexplained luck, external factors, or because someone else helped you.
In any case, you want to succeed so badly that you never feel fulfilled, even when you get what you need. As a result, people who have imposter syndrome constantly feel anxious.
Is imposter syndrome a mental illness?
Even though imposter syndrome is a very common mental health condition, it’s not recognized as a mental disorder by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Therefore, it can’t be considered a mental illness, but psychologists and counselors still work with people who struggle with imposter feelings.
What are the five different types of imposter syndrome?
According to imposter syndrome expert Valerie Young, there are five different types of imposter syndrome:
- Perfectionists – They set excessively high goals and experience self-doubt if they have trouble reaching it.
- Superwoman/man – They push themselves to work overly hard because they’re dedicated to the validation that comes from the working process.
- Natural Genius – They’re naturally good at achieving success and judging themselves if they can’t make it on the first try.
- Soloists – They always refuse others’ assistance, even when they need it.
- Expert – They think they don’t know enough and fear being exposed as being unintelligent or inexperienced.
What causes the imposter syndrome?
Imposter syndrome is the result of multiple factors. In particular, it can be a result of personality traits such as neuroticism or perfectionism.
Besides, anxiety disorders are associated with imposter syndrome, meaning that if you have any type of anxiety disorder or have a tendency to be anxious, you’re at the risk of developing imposter syndrome.
Another important factor is genetics. Families that value achievements and demand hard work from their kids often lead them to develop imposter feelings.
Conclusions
The very first step to getting rid of an imposter syndrome is revealing your strengths. Thus, every time you find yourself in a situation that can exacerbate the impostor syndrome, you have a valuable toolbox that will help you to talk you inner imposter. High5Test strengths finder is a reliable personality test that will help you to get started.
Remember, most people experience moments of doubt, and that’s normal. The important part is not to let that doubt control your actions and take away opportunities.
