The feeling of inadequacy or feeling like a fraud where people tend to think more about, they don’t deserve to be here. Such a phenomenon has been called Imposter Syndrome.
Research done in 2011 have described that 70% of people can feel like an imposter at least once in their life. Most people start feeling like an imposter in their office or academic setting. The feeling of they are being a fraud and they are not competent enough to deserve that position. Most of the times people think this is a phase and it will pass however in some instances it leads to a greater deal for their life. It may impact their performance and also sometimes career decisions. David Field mentioned in his article “the feeling of thrown into a deep sea and expecting one to swim”. The feeling often follows with deep-rooted thoughts of self-doubt and feeling intellectually incompetent in the presence. As mentioned earlier whatever a person feels is not just something a phase but might lead to something serious and can cause serious damage.
Famous personalities like Lady Gaga, Michell Obama, Maisie Williams have openly talked about their struggles of having this syndrome. Even at this point in their life, they tend to reflect about do they deserve this position? or people who are influenced by them should not take them seriously because they are not competent enough to be taken seriously. People have talked in public openly about this feeling because it is very common, and anyone can feel this.
If you feel like an imposter, it is important to acknowledge it and reach out to people. Reaching out to your support system or professional can help in such a phenomenon and help a person not get dived into the pool of self-doubt.
Importance of Professional Counseling: A friend or family member may listen to you, but they aren’t professionally, technically qualified or experienced to offer you professional advice. If you wish you can contact us at MindTribe to receive help from our team of expert psychologists.
About MindTribe.in.
MindTribe Founder Dr. Prerna Kohli, India’s eminent psychologist, established the company to leverage the strength of the online to make counseling affordable and accessible to everyone. MindTribe provides counseling, workshops, support groups, forums, and eLearning.
About the Author.
Sejal Gadhave is a psychologist at MindTribe.in. You can learn more about her by clicking here
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of MindTribe.in, the Founders, or management team.
Acknowledgement: All images used are open source and from Unsplash.