Is Impostor Syndrome Impacting Your Wellbeing?

In an earlier blog post I shared the warning signs that might indicate you’re experiencing impostor syndrome. It’s a feeling of being unworthy, despite your accomplishments and living in fear being discovered by others as a fraud.

As you can imagine this can have a seriously negative effect on many aspects of your life and this in turn can impact your overall wellbeing. Here are a few of the things that can happen:

• You stay in an unhealthy relationship because you fear nobody else will want you
• You deliberately sabotage yourself and increase your stress levels by taking on other tasks and putting important deliverables off until the last minute, so you’re unable to deliver your best work and then you beat yourself up for this
• You’re unable to shut down – work is constantly on your mind and it’s impossible to truly relax
• In meetings, you may resist speaking up and sharing your ideas for fear that others will judge you

• You don't feel you have agency to make choices that will lead to a happier and more fulfilled life

• You strive to please others at the cost of understanding and acknowledging your own aspirations, personal desires, impacting your physical, mental and emotional wellbeing

• You're a perfectionist. There's no such thing as "good enough" - everything must be perfect

• You're attracted to others who experience low self-esteem and this can keep you stuck in a safe, yet unhappy place
• You tolerate toxic and unhealthy workplace environments for fear that you’re not good enough to get a job anywhere else
• You’re always the one who puts their hand up to take on tasks, even if they don’t uplift you and often end up feeling resentful
• You’re a workaholic, putting in crazy hours to compensate for your feelings of not being good enough
• You don't exercise self-compassion - you can't accept that sometimes you'll have an off day and won't be on top form
• You don't believe that saying "No" is an option when asked to take on a task or project - boundary setting isn't something you're able to do
• You often feel on the brink of burnout, trying to live up to the impossible standard you've set yourself
• You often feel tired and experience a sense of feeling less than 100% healthy
• You fail to take time to appreciate and savour your successes
• There's no time for fun activities in your life - they're frivolous and there's always more things that need to be done
• You don't practice self-care on a regular basis - there's just no time to do this

Do any of these things resonate for you? These are some of the most typical experiences of people who have impostor syndrome.

I recognized a number of these things in myself and have consciously worked on being more aware of them and even understanding what caused me to feel this way, so that I can manage them and live a happier and more fulfilled life.

Want to start to do something about it?

One thing you can do for yourself, is to take time to document your strengths and talents. It's a critical component of my 1-on-1 work with my coaching clients and can really help to boost your self-confidence. Once you've made your list, ask friends and family to help you add to it. Look at the list every day and add any new strengths that come up. 

Need support making meaningful change?

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