Imposter Syndrome is rampant. When it was first introduced in 1978 it was thought to mainly affect women but soon it was proven to be equally distributed between men and women with 70% of us suffering from it at some point in our lives. I suspect that percentage is low.
The research suggests that one of the causes is demanding, overly protective parents. This makes sense because this type of parenting can take away your self confidence and agency. Brené Brown loves to say that struggle is what builds confidence and resilience. If parents protect us from our struggles we do not feel capable to take on life’s challenges.
In my work with clients and from my own observations I have come up with another compelling reason that some of us suffer from Imposter Syndrome. One of my clients is tormented by the voice in her head that says in a mean tone, “You do not know what you are doing, you are not keeping up to date in your field, you are going to do more harm than good.” I ask her, “I wonder what job this voice has?” Since Imposter Syndrome is not a mental illness I know that this active, instructive, mean voice is trying to help in some way.
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