DO YOU SUFFER FROM IMPOSTOR SYNDROME?

STOP BEING YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY WITH THIS SELF-SABOTAGING TREND

- Amber Bramble and Allison Yee

What do Michelle Obama, Meryl Streep, Jacinda Ardern, and Tina Fey have in common? Aside from the fact that they’re all smart and successful women, they’ve all admitted they’ve battled with impostor syndrome.

Impostor syndrome is a condition that often affects high achievers who struggle to believe their success is deserved or that it has been achieved through their own hard work and skills. It might be an irrational feeling of being a “fraud” or a nagging fear of being “caught out”. And while it’s often associated with the workplace, impostor syndrome can also occur in relationships and friendships.

Lecturer Dr. Sue Wilson from Monash University, who has written several research texts on impostor syndrome, says these fears are usually unfounded. “Often when we’re enacting the role in which we feel inadequate, we are enough and we are competent at the role,” she explains.

WHY IT HAPPENS