Recently there has been much discussion about one psychological issue in particular: impostor syndrome. What is it and why is everyone talking about it?
According to Scientific American, impostor syndrome is “a pervasive feeling of self-doubt, insecurity, or fraudulence despite often overwhelming evidence to the contrary.” It’s the feeling that everything you’ve accomplished and everything that you are is fake, and the only reason you’re still cruising is that people haven’t yet realized it. You constantly wonder if you and your work are truly good enough or adequate despite many outside factors confirming that they are. You feel like every time you reap the fruits of your labor it’s a fluke, just good luck, it won’t ever happen again. Even if you have success after success after success, proving to anyone else that you are excellent at your work, you yourself don’t recognize the clear pattern and think that your luck will run out any day.
Impostor syndrome makes you feel inferior in intelligence and ability to everyone else. (Credit: Plantae)
I know these feelings only too well because I have impostor syndrome. For a long time, I even felt like I had impostor syndrome about having impostor syndrome – I thought I was fooling myself by thinking that I had any intelligence, talent, or abilities to call into question, like I wasn’t good enough to even suffer from this phenomenon.
I first recognized it this past summer. My impostor syndrome is linked primarily to my writing abilities and my college career; I’d always felt overwhelming anxiety and disbelief in my abilities when submitting papers for classes or articles for my former college’s paper, but even when I received validation in the form of a good grade or praise I always felt it was a fluke. I’ve been told since elementary school that I was a good writer, but I never truly believed it. This summer I had a string of successes with writing opportunities and internship and college applications (including my transfer application to Boston University!), but I kept attributing my success to other factors – anything but my own raw talent. I would think, “They only accepted me because there was no one else; I was their last resort,” or, “that internship accepted a bunch of people, it wasn’t that competitive of a position,” and on and on and on. My brain would think up any excuse to write off my talent and ability.
When I looked at my successes collectively, I finally realized that it wasn’t just luck; I wasn’t a fraud. I was having such success because I am good at what I do. I got the writing position I applied for because I write well; I got into one of the best universities in the country because I worked hard and genuinely deserve to be here. I finally gave myself credit after invalidating myself for years and years.
People who suffer from impostor syndrome are prone to feeling like they’re out of the loop and everyone knows more than them. (Credit: Errant Science)
This article isn’t to brag about my abilities or my hard work – and please don’t read it as such. But, it’s completely unfair to never give yourself the credit you rightfully deserve. Of course, it’s okay to have self-doubt – it shows that you’re a deep thinker and are always reflecting on yourself, your actions, and your abilities, which is an important quality to have – and everyone doubts themselves sometimes. If you find yourself constantly doubting yourself and feeling like a fraud, it’s likely that you suffer from imposter syndrome too.
So, how do you combat impostor syndrome? In a TIME article, psychologist Audrey Ervin said that “simply observing that [negative] thought as opposed to engaging it” is critical to overcoming those doubts. In the same article, Dr. Valerie Young, an expert on impostor syndrome, explained that “we just have to learn to think like non-impostors” and not let those thoughts of self-doubt cloud our judgment.
For me personally, it’s a matter of mindfulness. When my brain feels bombarded with thoughts of self-doubt and I start to put myself down, I take a step back, take some deep breaths, and try to think more objectively about the situation. It also helps to frame things more positively, and because my greatest fear as a sufferer of impostor syndrome is failure, I tell myself it’s completely okay to fail and that everything is a learning experience. Once I convince myself of that, I have nothing to lose.
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