Are you setting the bar impossibly high for yourself? Are you a huge perfectionist? Are you insecure about the work you deliver or do you never think it is good enough? Do you feel like a fraud in what you do, despite your successful achievements? Then you may suffer from imposter syndrome.
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What is imposter syndrome?
If you suffer from imposter syndrome you feel very insecure about your performance, even when this is not necessary. Imposter syndrome is not officially a mental disorder. That doesn’t make this phenomenon any less annoying. It feels like you’re cheating everyone, hence the name; imposter syndrome. Both men and women suffer from this. Yet it is especially common among highly educated young women. As a result of imposter syndrome, you experience a lot of stress at work and are rarely relaxed. You probably also postpone important things too much due to the fear of failure. This makes it take longer to finish something, which increases the feeling of failure.
How do you recognize imposter syndrome?
The symptoms of imposter syndrome are quite easy to recognize. You are in denial of your achievements and your own abilities and tell yourself that “anyone can do this”. You are very critical of yourself, which often makes you a hard worker. When you receive a compliment, you are suspicious of it and don’t think what you have done is worth a compliment at all. Another symptom is that you prefer not to ask anyone for help. Do you do this? Then this proves to you your incompetence. Your negative idea about your own performance and abilities does not match reality if you suffer from imposter syndrome. Reality is not comparable to how you see things.
What causes it?
High expectations
Imposter syndrome often plays a role in successful people. With greater success comes a greater chance that you will suffer from this syndrome. It is therefore also called the “curse of smart people”. You want to do everything you can to meet your environment and yourself, in what you think is expected of you. These expectations are higher than you can live up to. The syndrome is caused by the pursuit of perfectionism and a problem or lack of self-esteem.
Upbringing
Upbringing may also play a role in the development of imposter syndrome. If your parents have always told you how special and exceptional you are, it creates pressure to maintain this image. When you have your first job and things don’t go as you thought, you discover that you are not as special and exceptional as you thought, but that you also make mistakes just like your colleagues. This is difficult to deal with, millennials especially have difficulty with this.
If your parents taught you as a child to emphasize the importance of good performance, this is probably the cause of your struggle with imposter syndrome. As a result, you set high expectations for yourself later in life.
Discrimination
Women and people of color develop imposter syndrome in response to sexism, racism, and microaggressions they experienced in childhood. In response, they work harder to prove they are capable.
How do you get rid of it?
To get rid of imposter syndrome, you must first become aware of the problem and that you are struggling with it. Recognize it in yourself and then start working on it. So talk to the negative voice in your head. Compliment yourself, even if it is on small achievements. Take together all your successful achievements and prove to yourself in this way that you are indeed competent. Think about what your reaction would be if a close friend suffers from imposter syndrome. How would you respond? What would you come up with as a solution? Then apply this to yourself. Suppress the initial reaction you have of doubts and uncertainty. Make an agreement with yourself not to work too hard or be too critical of your work. If none of these approaches help, discuss your problems with a psychologist.
