Am I having Impositor Syndrome? Part 1

The impression that he is cheating the world is not in the right place, he does not deserve his position, his family, his friends, the recognition… The so-called these are the characteristics of a person with imposter syndrome, who also fears that he will soon be “exposed”, everything will collapse around him. After all, they realize that they have “cheated”, only because of the luck they have achieved. If perhaps we know ourselves or have such a person in our environment, it is worth paying special attention to this disease. It is also advisable to find out about its probable causes and treatment options.

“I was very lucky to get this advantage / result.” A person with Impositor Syndrome, if successful in anything, will measure it according to his or her “smile” or the amount of work he or she has done. or admits to chance, “I happened to be in the right place at the right time.” In any case, success comes from outside for him, due to some external factors, never personal abilities.

The word impostor means, among other things, a fraudster, a crook, a villain. The patient with Impressive Syndrome is not, in fact, but because of his extremely high lack of self-confidence / low self-esteem, he thinks so. If you are affected by any positive things / e.g. he is positively assessed, he says he “doesn’t deserve it”, is actually deceiving the outside world, he considers himself unworthy of success in any case.

In our daily lives, we can often be confronted with a person who may be suffering from this syndrome without even knowing it. He is often brilliant but modest and feels that he does not even deserve his position at work or his place in life. His great fear is that he will discover this “scam” and lose everything that is important to him in life. Therefore, he works even more, overdoes himself at work, in the affected areas, and at home as well, thus creating a vicious circle.

If all of this results in success, the sufferer with Impersonator Syndrome “explains” to himself that it is certainly not due to his aptitude or qualities. However, these patients should not be confused with real fraudsters, e.g. with pseudo-doctors, pseudo-scientists, fortune tellers, etc., who really do not possess the abilities they proclaim.

When this syndrome can be traced back to childhood

Too demanding parents, high family expectations, the child never thinks they are up to the task, .. All this is ideal soil for imposter syndrome. It would be right for parents to follow their child’s career without asking too much of it. In addition, they would only be entrusted with tasks that promote their development or their level, and I would praise them for their good performance, but only in justified cases. After all, if a child is praised for all his insignificant “success,” the day will come when he will face other children, e.g. at school, he realizes that he is not so “extraordinary”… And the sand castle is collapsing.

Rely on the evidence

In adulthood, it is important to increase the self-confidence of a person with Impressive Syndrome based on real, serious facts. Otherwise, if we praise you, you will not believe a positive opinion about it or that you have succeeded because of your own abilities. For example, if you congratulate you on an excellent performance, ask others to comment (in detail) on the good performance of the task. Let’s always stick to the facts and prove it.