What is Imposter Syndrome and Why Does It Happen?
Imposter Syndrome is a common internal experience that is largely based on negative beliefs about oneself and that can greatly impact your mental health, causing persistent feelings of self-doubt, anxiety and even depression in the face of undeniable evidence of success. It is a condition where people feel like frauds, where they are constantly afraid of not being deserving of their achievements and are fearful of being “found out” by others.
At BalanceHour we help people to deal with such issues. We provide in-person therapy in Dublin, CA, virtual therapy to California residents, and professional coaching services to clients around the world. In this article, we will go over what it means to have imposter syndrome and the signs to look out for.
Imposter Syndrome Meaning
Imposter syndrome refers to an internal psychological experience and pattern in which people doubt their abilities, skills, and achievements. There is evidence of their success that is objective and external, but those who experience this phenomenon attribute most, if not all, of their successes to pure luck, timing or external factors, rather than their own competence. This sets up a chronic, crippling, and debilitating anxiety that you will be found out as a fraud.
Imposter syndrome symptoms
Imposter syndrome manifest in typical ways, especially in a high-performance area such as in professional or educational settings. Key signs of imposter syndrome are:
- Perfectionism: Setting standards that are unrealistically high and viewing anything less than perfect as a complete failure.
- Self-doubt: A constant sense of not being good enough, a sense that others are inherently more competent.
- Fear of Being Found Out: The persistent thought that you will be ‘discovered,’ or exposed as a fraud.
- Credit to Luck: Believing that success was just luck, and discounting your own skills.
- Overworking: You work yourself to a burnout to compensate for your sense of internal inadequacy so no one finds out.
What causes imposter syndrome
To get a sense of what imposter syndrome is, we need to consider the high pressure environments that give rise to these feelings:
- Academic Pressure: College students are competing with each other, meeting high expectations, and adapting to new environments. Often they look at their peers and feel inadequate or inferior while also being afraid of failure.
- Competitive Workplaces: The desire to be better, fulfill expectations, and climb the career ladder can cause professionals to feel unworthy of their promotion or recognition especially if they believe others are better than them.
- No Boundaries: Many people are afraid of setting boundaries because they think it will make them look incompetent so they give up their work-life balance and become exhausted.
- Inferiority: Underneath these causes lies a core feeling of inferiority. This is the painful belief that you are fundamentally less capable than those around you, which drives the cycle of overworking and anxiety.
Imposter Syndrome at Work
Imposter syndrome at work can be a major obstacle to job growth and well-being. Professionals in the workplace often fear that asking questions or admitting that they don’t know something will make them look inept or incompetent. As these people climb the career ladder, the dread of being “found out” actually gets worse with each promotion towards the top. Specialized strategies such as Leadership Performance and Executive Coaching can help professionals deal with psychological pressure, develop self-awareness and lead with confidence.
How to Overcome Impostor Syndrome
Overcoming imposter syndrome is a lengthy process of changing your relationship to achievement and belief about yourself. Therapy can be a highly effective tool in this journey, especially with an anxiety therapist specializing in treating people who experience such distress in workplace, academic, and even personal relationship situations. Some therapeutic strategies include:
- Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT): CBT allows you to recognize, address and alter the negative thinking patterns and irrational beliefs that fuel your self-doubt.
- Self-Compassion: Therapy teaches you to be kind to yourself when situations are tough, and to realize that your beliefs about yourself may need recalibration.
- Mindfulness and Grounding: These abilities serve to minimize the strong anxiety of dread of exposure and keep you in the here and now.
- Identifying Triggers: A therapist can help you discover certain academic, work, or relationship situations that trigger your feelings of being an imposter and help you create proactive coping mechanisms.
Support and Guidance at BalanceHour Therapy
If you’re struggling with Imposter Syndrome, therapy can help. Whether you are in college or a working professional, understanding and addressing these feelings is essential for your mental health and overall well-being. At BalanceHour Therapy, we offer therapy services for those in Dublin, CA, and surrounding areas. If you’re a California resident, we can offer virtual therapy, and for those outside California, our coaching services are available worldwide.
