Impostor Phenomenon also known as Impostor Syndrome

I can tell you about the history of Impostor Syndrome however a lot of people don’t know they’ve experienced Impostor Syndrome until they hear more about experiences “Impostors” have.

Here is my non-extensive list of what you may have felt/ thought:

• Feeling like you’re not doing enough compared to others

• Feeling like you’re not as good as those around you

• Feeling as if you don’t belong in that academic/professional setting

• Feeling like you’re just winging it and they’ll find out sooner or later that you’re just full of sh*!%

• Feeling as if you’re accomplishments are not worthy of being celebrated

• Becoming more focused on the negative parts of yourself 

• Comparing yourself to others and assuming that they’re success is because of their intelligence, high self-esteem, and confidence 

• Dismissing your success to getting lucky or getting help from others

• Having such high expectations for yourself that it becomes crippling- procrastination at its finest

• Working so hard on something but still not feeling content with the outcome

• Overworking yourself in order to prove that you are worthy (to yourself and/or to others)

• Feeling like your success is a result of being at the right place at the right time

• Avoiding evaluations/feedback due to fear of being rejected or told that you’re work isn’t cut out

FOR MY FIRST GENERATION PEEPS

Impostor Phenomenon, better known as Impostor Syndrome, takes a unique role for the experiences of first generation black, indigenous, and people of color. These moments of self-doubt not only come from internal forces of feeling like you don’t belong, they also come from external forces— experiences that you’ve had in your lifetime and centuries before you. For instance, experiences with xenophobia, discrimination, microaggressions, and blatant racism create an environment of not-belonging for you. Whether you acknowledge that these experiences directly affect you or not, they still influence the way you perceive yourself and how the world accepts you. With all these direct and indirect messages of not belonging and/or not being accepted, how can you NOT experience Impostor Syndrome? Once you’ve made your way into these professional and academic spaces, how can you feel like you belong when others may not treat you like you do? How can you feel like you belong when you may be the only one in those spaces? It’s time to unpack all of that baggage and learn to ACT and FEEL worthy of the place you’re in, the place you’ve EARNED.

Impostor Syndrome may be a phenomenon that is not considered a diagnosis, but there is research that suggests that it co-occurs with physical (somatic) symptoms, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and struggles with socializing — all things that can be addressed in therapy… Don’t intellectualize your way out of this one! Your feelings matter so give it the time and space to validate them and to alleviate those feelings of self-doubt! Let yourself feel worthy!