How impostor syndrome manifests itself: a psychologist explained
According to statistics, 2/3 of all people suffer from impostor syndrome. They believe that they are in the wrong place and do not deserve what they have.
Maria Goryeva , a practicing psychologist and a Master of Psychology, spoke about how impostor syndrome manifests itself.
Such people do not notice their successes, and if they do, they consider them luck, a lucky chance. In addition, they do not accept the authorship of their lives, often comparing themselves with others.
The comparison turns out to be not in their favor. Imagine that two out of three of your friends underestimate themselves and are ready to give their merits to others.
What is impostor syndrome, where does it come from and how to get rid of it
The roots of impostor syndrome go back to childhood. It is during this period of life that a person is most sensitive to external influences. A child takes everything adults say on faith, without critically checking.
And parents and other significant adults can set negative attitudes, set the bar too high and not take into account the child’s small successes.
Thus, a person learns that everything needs to be done “faster, higher, stronger.” Small results do not bring joy, and the process is not considered valuable.
As a result, a person becomes an achiever. He does not stop for a minute, he is always tense and dissatisfied. A frequent phrase: "yes, but...". That is, all efforts are insufficient, no matter how hard he tries.
Moreover, loved ones can add fuel to the fire, not believing in intentions and not accepting the significance of what was done. Devaluation of others and self-devaluation is something that is often familiar to people with impostor syndrome.
Or a tactic is chosen when it is scary to start acting, everything is checked many times and as a result the syndrome of postponed life arises. When it seems that you are not living your life, and years are passing in vain.
There are people, on the contrary, who overestimate their knowledge, skills and abilities. The opposite phenomenon to impostor syndrome is the Dunning-Kruger effect. When a person knows something superficially, but already considers himself an expert in this field. This cognitive distortion is similar to a manifestation of inflated self-esteem. Impostor syndrome is a manifestation of low self-esteem.
In order to live easier, it would be good to have adequate self-esteem. When I realize that I can do and know exactly my limitations. When I am not a nobody, but I can’t do everything in the world, no matter how hard I try.
You can come to a holistic vision of yourself, your skills, and potential resources as a result of long-term work with a psychologist.
