Feeling like a fraud?

How to overcome Imposter Syndrome at work and in life

By Sudie Crouch | Health & Wellness columnist

If you’ve ever had those or similar thoughts coupled with feelings of panic, anxiety and depression surrounding certain areas of your life, you may be struggling with Imposter Syndrome.

Even though many of us may sometimes question our successes from time to time, Imposter Syndrome takes it a bit further.

Imposter Syndrome is something that many people — approximately 82 percent according to the American Psychological Association —experience and can have a profound impact on their personal and professional lives.

While anyone can experience Imposter Syndrome, it does tend to be more prevalent among those who may be high-achievers. Those driven folks that you see and think are at the top of their game may very well be suffering from internalized fear and doubt that they don’t deserve their success.

Battling these thought distortions can lead people to feel like their happiness and success is a fluke, that something will expose them as a fraud, and that they have no authority whatsoever in their area of expertise. Those feelings of inadequacy can manifest in many different ways.

Someone may feel unable to do their job out of fear they will make a mistake. Perfectionism can often accompany this syndrome, as people dealing with it often feel like what they do is never quite good enough.

You may find yourself also secondguessing your choices and decisions and not trying out for promotions or projects because you fear failure. On a personal level, it can make us afraid to be honest and vulnerable, because we feel like we’ll be judged or ridiculed. It can even affect your relationships, too. The stressors of self-doubt can spill over into your personal life and maybe even make you doubt that someone could love you or want to be with you –especially if they knew the ‘truth.’

Given the fact that so many people struggle with this, working through those areas of self-doubt and powerful thought distortions can be difficult.

When I began working as a coach for a global company several years ago, I found myself dealing with Imposter Syndrome.

I myself was struggling with my weight and even though I knew the steps I needed to take to correct my behavior and emotional eating, I didn’t. It made me feel like I was incompetent at my job, despite all the education and training I have. So who was I to tell anyone what to do?

I said as much to my supervisor in a performance review and thankfully, she gave me the grace to work through it, encouraging me to find ways to celebrate my successes and the skills I brought to the table.

But digging into our abilities and strengths can be tough to do though for many reasons.

Sudie Crouch is a health & wellness coach, helping clients create healthy, attainable changes using positive psychology and cognitive behavior approaches.