Imposter Syndrome

By Olaide Taiwo

Meet Dola

Dola has just recently completed her university degree with excellent grades. She had received countless congratulations and immeasurable words of praise. On her LinkedIn profile, the first words in her headline were ‘First-Class Graduate’. There was, however, something quietly weighing her down – this feeling that she didn’t deserve those grades. She felt she wasn’t qualified for a first class and that she didn’t do well enough to have achieved that. In her thoughts, it seemed as though she was impersonating a smart person and would not be able to defend her certificate. The thought that someone may eventually figure out her lies and expose her for being an impostor was prominent.

The feelings intensified whenever she was asked about her plans now that she was a graduate. It was not that she did not have plans, nor that she had not attempted to proceed with her plans. She had been on a job hunt for months now and every effort to get her desired job role had proven futile. She even lowered her job prospects and the few responses she received were rejections. Her job hunt was increasingly becoming evidence that she simply wasn’t good enough and didn’t fit into the workplace.

She had been in so much self-doubt, she missed two application deadlines last week. She felt that the person-specification were really similar to the ones required for the job roles she was rejected by and even though she had edited her CV to improve her prospects, she couldn’t shake off the feeling of being unqualified.

Not Good Enough

We all have moments when we feel insufficient about our skills in certain areas. In fact, it is safe to assume that there is no ‘jack of all trades’ in the literal sense. There isn’t anyone who is proficient at every single thing in life. It is a different story, though, when we feel like we are not as good as people think, despite results proving otherwise.

It’s okay to reflect on our strengths and weaknesses as these can form the basis for continuing personal development. However, many of us retain this feeling, which is sometimes intense, that we are not good enough. Many of us feeling this way are also more likely to agree with average or berating results as they often justify those irrational thoughts. People have discussed the fear of being “caught” or “publicly disgraced” for being unable to defend their results or claiming to be who they are not. This also reduces the likelihood of talking about these feelings, coupled with the fact that individuals often believe they are alone and no one would understand their experience.

Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome can affect anyone regardless of skill level, social status, profession or expertise. It is characterised by self-doubt, self-sabotage and berating one’s own performance. They may also experience fear of not meeting up to expectations and crediting luck or other factors apart from themselves for their success.  

Imposter syndrome may increase some people’s motivation to attain excellence. But there is constant anxiety and a tendency to over-work, usually to avoid being caught. Such person may therefore accredit their excellence to the extra work rather than acknowledge their own skills.

Whilst imposter syndrome is not classified as a disorder, it may lead to increased anxiety and depression. The first good news here is that nobody is alone in feeling this way. An estimated 70% of people will experience some form of imposter syndrome in their lives. When Dola eventually spoke to a trusted friend, she was surprised but comforted to know that he could relate, as she learned about his experience. This encouraged her to speak to a trained counsellor, which aided her understanding and management of her feelings.

Why do we feel this way?

There may be many reasons why we experience imposter syndrome. For Dola, she found that her upbringing may have contributed to her current feelings.  She was the first child of four children. Her parents often told her to keep working hard to maintain her status as a role model for her siblings. She was also subject of criticism and comparison to family friends. She also remembered feeling out of place when she transferred from her local high school to a boarding school with competitive admission rates.

Like Dola, many people may be able to identify certain factors that have contributed to their experience, such as living in an environment where achievements are highly valued. A new role or unfamiliar circumstance may also trigger these feelings. However, many others may not be able to attribute their experience to any specific factors.

Managing our Thoughts and Feelings

1)     Examine your self-perceptions and share these with others

To manage Imposter Syndrome, Dola’s therapist helped to understand and examine her perception of herself. Recognising one’s beliefs, usually by honest, unbiased confrontations is important in dealing with imposter syndrome. Sharing one’s feelings may be helpful in putting them into a different perspective thereby reducing the tendency for a biased assessment. Also, thoughts tend to amplify when they are not talked about or supressed.

2)     Record and keep track of a personal abilities assessment and list of achievements

Assisting others in a similar situation may be useful in assessing our abilities. Perhaps, writing down our accomplishments and skills or keeping a track record of milestone’s and improvements may assist in reaching a truly reflective assessment of our abilities.  This may facilitate a projection of more realistic views, especially in areas where we have been overtly critical.

3)     Refer to records when tempted into comparison or perfectionism.

Another suggestion is to focus less on maintaining perfection but learning to appreciate efforts and improvements as they come along. It may be useful to keep the records of our ‘abilities assessment’ within reach so we can subject our thoughts of ‘being fraud’ or ‘inadequacy’ to these records. Rather than comparing one’s self with others, intentionally reminding ourselves of how far we’ve come and what we’ve achieved may quieten these thoughts.

4)     Acknowledge how you feel

It is so crucial to not deny these feelings. Instead, we should acknowledge them when they creep up. This allows us to explore and identify underlying beliefs or factors associated with them. This way, we are more equipped to deal with them effectively. On the other hand, it is just as imperative to not allow these thoughts of being an imposter prevent us from pursuing our goals. We can refuse to be crippled and keep trying our best instead!

There is Help

We should please remember that if imposter syndrome is particularly impacting our mental and physical health as well as other areas of our lives, speaking to a mental health professional is the best option. Everyone deserves to be heard and seeking help doesn’t make you weak.