Imposter syndrome is the internal psychological experience of feeling like a phony in some area of your life, despite any success that you have achieved in that area.
You might have imposter syndrome if you find yourself consistently experiencing self-doubt, even in areas where you typically excel. Imposter syndrome may feel like restlessness and nervousness, and it may manifest as negative self-talk. Symptoms of anxiety and depression often accompany imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is not an easily diagnosable mental illness. Instead, the term is usually narrowly applied to intelligence and achievement, although it also has links to perfectionism and the social context.
What Are the 5 Types of Imposter Syndrome?
The Perfectionist. This type of imposter syndrome involves believing that, unless you were absolutely perfect, you could have done better. You feel like an imposter because your perfectionistic traits make you believe that you're not as good as others might think you are.
The Expert. The expert feels like an imposter because they don't know everything there is to know about a particular subject or topic, or they haven't mastered every step in a process. Because there is more for them to learn, they don't feel as if they've reached the rank of "expert."
The Natural Genius. In this imposter syndrome type, you may feel like a fraud simply because you don't believe that you are naturally intelligent or competent. If you don't get something right the first time around or it takes you longer to master a skill, you feel like an imposter.
The Soloist. It's also possible to feel like an imposter if you had to ask for help to reach a certain level or status. Since you couldn't get there on your own, you question your competence or abilities.
The Super-person. This type of imposter syndrome involves believing that you must be the hardest worker or reach the highest levels of achievement possible and, if you don't, you are a fraud.
A person with imposter syndrome has: a sense of being a fraud, a fear of being discovered, and a difficulty internalizing their own success. This is an exhausting state of mind. They have powerful social, ambition and self-esteem instinct issues. They walk around with various strategies in their tool box but the feeling is the same. FEAR.
FEAR of:
1. My colleagues and managers expect more from me that I can manage. I may not be able to deliver what they want.
2. I may not succeed so I will settle for less and avoid higher achievements.
3. I’m afraid of seeing what I do wrong and avoid tasks that I may fail at
4. I can’t do too much because I will become overwhelmed and fail.
5. Even when I achieve success, it is not actually me but luck and outside circumstances.
6. Somebody may see the “truth” and condemn me for not being enough.
7. I deny my competency.
8. When external circumstances affect my outcome, I blame myself.
9. I get Job burnout and feel a need to move on. Quit rather than get fired.
10. As I try to reach to overcome my inadequacy feelings, I burn out faster.
11. I stay in lesser positions or look for partners in business because I am not enough.
12. I focus on tasks rather than goal-setting.
13. I have a fear of failure and yet I need to be the best so I OVER achieve and still feel unworthy.
14. I sometimes try to overcome my issue by setting extremely challenging goals and experience massive disappointment when I am unable to achieve them.
Where does it come from? It is usually the result of a set of perceived impacts during the 6 – Puberty phase. This was when we were developing the skills of competence, knowing, learning. If we were insecure during this phase, or had trauma during this phase of development, our sub-cognitive would have developed a weakness within our self-perception.
Imagine:
Dad pushed the young 12-year-old to become great at football, but the truth was that he was average and never was able to accomplish the outcomes expected.
She was 10 and worked hard in school but had always been condemned by parents for not being as smart as her sister or brother. She must be not working hard enough.
The 13-year-old boy was expected to become a powerful success like his father, but really harbored a desire to be a chef. Not acceptable in the family ideal.
Imposter Syndrome is typically created in families that value achievement above all else. Imagine what it would feel like to be a child that was expected to achieve great things to feel accepted and loved. They were not allowed to simply be themselves and seek happiness or be the best version of themselves. They were compared to elite expectations and never felt that they measured up.
This is pervasive trauma. It needs to be dispelled. It has arrested the adult’s line of clarity and sense of individual value. Impact therapy partnered with powerful statements and questions could re-author the client’s value systems and save their children from the same fate.
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