Dealing with Impostor Syndrome
Sometimes, I doubt my abilities and feel inadequate. I feel that I’m just lucky. I go, “Oh!, it’s nothing”, even when it’s something. I feel like a fraud who would be exposed soon.
Impostor syndrome is a psychological issue that makes a person feel incompetent and inefficient, despite all proof of skills and accomplishments. Even when everybody appreciates you for your accomplishment, you just don’t see it. People suffering from impostor syndrome feel like they don’t deserve what they have because they believe that it’s through luck. They become insecure about their works and feel that they act like, they are more capable than they are.
Most times, impostor syndrome is narrowed to career and intelligence, but it could affect your life socially too. You feel like you don’t deserve the love, friendships nor appreciation you get from people around you. Here’s why–
Causes of Impostor Syndrome
The most common causes of Impostor Syndrome have almost the same causes like;
- Fear
One of its major causes is fear. We mostly fear making mistakes and being judged or seen as fraud. There are many other kinds of fears based on the individual. When we have too so much fear, it takes over our thoughts and makes us feel inadequate and less about ourselves.
2. Self-doubt
Sometimes, we doubt our capabilities and accomplishments. We believe it’s too good to be true. Self-doubt mostly happens as a result of fear. We begin to doubt ourselves when we instil fear in our thoughts.
3. Change of competitive environment
When you move to a different job or school or any high position, you tend to feel scared of being judged or seen as incompetent. This, also makes us think less of ourselves and doubt our previous accomplishments.
4. Lack of self-confidence
Many times, low self-esteem could be a major cause of the syndrome. People with low self-esteem tend to have nurtured self belittling thoughts which grow into becoming Impostor Syndrome.
5. Unhealthy Comparisons
Comparing yourself to others is one of the worst things to do to your mental health. When you compare yourself to other people, you tend to lose track of your achievements and see lesser than you should.
6. Having too many goals/expectations
When we set a high standard for expectations or goals, we tend to feel disappointed, if they don’t work out. This could lead to self-doubt and then blow out of proportion easily.
Symptoms of Impostor Syndrome
Most times, people don’t want to admit to having the syndrome. Other times, they don’t even know that’s what they’re experiencing. How do you know when you have the syndrome?
- Feeling inadequate.
- Doubting your self more often than normal.
- Fearing judgement from others.
- Not agreeing to own your success and achievements.
- Comparing yourself to others in the same field as you.
- Displaying perfectionist tendencies.
How to deal with Impostor’s Syndrome
Getting over Impostor syndrome isn’t as easy as it seems. It takes quite some time and efforts. Here are a few things you can do to help yourself;
- Engage your mind with Positivity
Impostor Syndrome allows you to cloud your mind and mouth with negative thoughts and words. Say positive affirmations to yourself. Instead of saying “I can’t do this”, you tell yourself things like “This is something I can improve on”. The key to doing this is not by lying to yourself to change your mindset, it’s by changing how you see things. When you start to see the positivity in things, that’s progress.
2. Build a support network
Talking about our problems helps up get a better understanding most times and you might also be able to come up with solutions with the help of this person.
3. Understand your strengths and weaknesses.
Knowing your capabilities helps you figure out how far you can go with something and what areas to focus on improving with it. When you know and understand your weaknesses, you understand that you’re not what the syndrome has made you think you are.
4. Develop a quick response plan
If you realize you experience the syndrome often, you can create a specific solution to respond to this problem as soon as you notice. This makes it easier to deal with quicker.
5. Own your successes
Impostor’s syndrome makes people find it hard to accept compliments. They feel their achievements are mostly from luck or help from others. In situations like these, you have to acknowledge your skills and talent that made it happen. When you meet a goal or finish a project, own its success, because it’s yours.
