If we see our merits as a stroke of luck, we doubt our worth and fear that others will discover our impostor, we also have impostor syndrome. Have you ever had the experience of getting good grades on an exam and thinking it was just luck or that it was graded incorrectly? Do your classmates tell you that you are a good student, but you think they are mistaken? When our own achievements don't seem important to us or when we don't feel responsible for our accomplishments, we may be suffering from impostor syndrome: a psychological condition that undermines our self-esteem and our work and personal relationships. That's why, in order to feel that achieving our
eTítulo university degree or advancing in our job is solely due to our effort and that we can feel proud, we must address this syndrome as soon as possible.
What is impostor syndrome?
Impostor syndrome is the name given to a psychological condition that produces an internal conviction of personal or professional inadequacy, or both, and is accompanied by a fear of being discovered by others and perceived as a fraud. It was named and documented by clinical psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978, and numerous articles and books have been written about it. It should be clarified that impostor syndrome, despite its name and the extensive documentation available on the subject, is not a mental illness or a recognized psychological disorder in the
CIE-10 or DSM-V diagnostic manuals. It is rather a phenomenon or condition that can affect all of us at certain moments in our lives, but becomes more evident in certain individuals who have a series of common traits or experiences:
- Belonging to a successful and competitive family and having suffered numerous criticisms when trying to meet their expectations.
- Mediocre academic record that has made us appreciate ourselves as people of low intelligence or lacking in skills.
- Having low self-esteem and insecurity. Constant feeling of "not being enough."
- Having had a negative experience that has marked us in the educational or work environment.
- Having a very high level of self-demand and a list of practically unattainable goals.
- Perfectionist personality traits.
How does it affect us?
Imagine that we are awarded a medal for winning a race and we think we don't deserve it because, due to some natural abilities that we have no merit for, it was easy for us to reach the finish line. That we owe this victory to our lightweight and comfortable shoes. That the rest of the participants had eaten something bad and that made them go slower, or that we don't deserve it because we haven't trained as much as others and someone will realize that we're not really good at sports. This is what happens with impostor syndrome; no matter what achievement or recognition we obtain, we will always perceive it as undeserved and live in anguish thinking that sooner or later someone will realize our lack of worth. And it doesn't stop there: impostor syndrome also causes anxiety, frustration, feelings of guilt, and self-disdain, which is why it is necessary to combat it as soon as the first signs appear.
What can we do to combat impostor syndrome?
If we identify with several of the symptoms, the first thing we must do is understand that there is nothing wrong with us and we do not have any illness. Recognizing a series of patterns in our thinking should not serve to pathologize ourselves, but rather to implement the necessary measures to prevent the situation from worsening. To begin, we can start implementing the following:
1. Work as a team and not take on other people's tasks Each person is responsible for their own work, and when working in a group, no one should assume that the final result depends on a single person. We must respect the distribution of tasks and understand that our criteria do not necessarily prevail over others. Relaxing and knowing how to delegate tasks is important.
2. Set reasonable goals If we set out to reach the moon, it is very likely that we will end up frustrated and thinking that, by not achieving our goals, we are of little worth. The goals we set for ourselves must be tangible and logical. One goal is to finish college with a good academic record, another goal is to find a job. If we start thinking about magical things like buying Amazon from Jeff Bezos, we cannot see it as a goal, but as a dream.
3. Avoid comparing ourselves to others Each person has strengths and weaknesses. When we have impostor syndrome traits, we tend to magnify the successes of others and see our own as if they had occurred due to causes unrelated to us or pure luck. That's not true. Each personal achievement (ours and others') involves a set of circumstances that include effort, dedication, opportunity, luck... We shouldn't just focus on those achievements in which we haven't had much involvement, but rather on those in which we have. The only comparison we should make is with ourselves. Have we improved compared to last year? Do we know more than before? Have we made progress?
4. Accept compliments without excuses "Congratulations on your presentation! I loved how you approached the topic!" The appropriate response is not: "Really? Well, I made a lot of mistakes and it didn't turn out the way I planned, it's just that you caught us on a good day and my friend Luisa helped me with the audiovisual part. She knows how to capture the audience's attention." The correct response is: "Thank you very much. I'm really glad you liked it. Can you tell me which parts interested you the most so that I can take it into account for my future presentations?"
5. Seek support It always helps to talk about how we feel with people we trust. And trust is not just a random expression. We need someone whose judgment we truly trust to confront the false beliefs we have about ourselves. Seeing ourselves reflected in the mirror of what others appreciate about us can help us change the negative perception we have of ourselves. If, after implementing these tips, we still feel the same, it is time to seek specialized help.
