Impostor Phenomenon (IP) is not a formally recognised psychological disorder but has become the subject of a number of research articles and books since a study by American psychotherapists Pauline Glance and Suzanne Imes in 1978. They examined a group of successful women who they found had high levels of self-doubt and battled to internalise their success, dismissing it as the result of good timing, chance or somehow deceiving others into thinking them more intelligent or capable than they really were. And it seems the problem is on the rise. In recent interviews, Clance reported that there have been many more requests for workshops during the past few years. ‘I wish it weren’t still relevant,’ she said.
Performance coaches Allan Kleynhans and Maxine Clancy, both of Visible Assets in Durban, confirm they too come across IP frequently in their personal-development seminars. ‘These people are driven to succeed because they believe their success will make them more likable to themselves and others,’ says Kleynhans. ‘The problem is they don’t focus on their achievements for long because of self-esteem issues rooted in the subconscious. Soon they’re questioning their success and self-worth. This triggers the drive to succeed at a new task to prove they’re good enough but the feeling of achievement never lasts.’
WHO’S VULNERABLE?
Chances are good that you yourself or some of the smartest people you know have IP. According to US psychologist and self-described ‘recovering impostor’ Dr Valerie Young, a world authority on IP and author of the dissertation A Model Of Internal Barriers To Women’s Occupational Achievement, it strikes mostly women. And while it can affect people from every walk of life and at any stage of their careers, it’s most common among high-achieving students or professionals – from medical practitioners to educators, and from lawyers and accountants to business executives and computer programers. It’s also common among creative people such as artists, actors and entertainers. The more competent, intelligent and successful you are, the more prone you are, say Young and Clancy.
Few studies have been conducted on the prevalence of IP but in the most recent, among family-medicine residents at a US university in Wisconsin in 2004, 41% of women and 24% of men tested scored as ‘impostors’. ‘About a third of family-medicine residents believe they are less intelligent and less competent than others perceive them to be,’ concluded the researchers. ‘They suffer psychological distress and do not believe they will be ready to practise family medicine after graduation.’
THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT OF IP
IP is emotionally debilitating, it undermines your self-image, leads to depression and holds you back in relationships and your career, says Clancy. It can prevent you from pursuing a promising relationship or asking questions in class as a student or offering contributions in social situations or the workplace as an adult. You’re too afraid of being shown up as less worthy or intelligent than you should be, or than you think people believe you to be.
You may also attempt to give answers you think others want or use charm to gain approval, thereby increasing your feeling of being a fake. Dreading evaluation, failure and exposure, you tend to play it safe, which prevents you from applying for new projects or jobs, seeking or accepting promotion, and reaching your full potential.
If you do manage to steel yourself and plough ahead, you find that the greater your success, the greater your stress – because the higher the expectations are, the more you fear you may not be able to meet them. You imagine your every decision must now be perfect, because there’s so much to lose – and this can paralyse you, or cause depression or angry outbursts, affecting your relationships and your health. It’s interesting to note psychologists report that real impostors don’t ever suffer from such feelings.
WHERE IT ALL BEGINS
IP seems to go back to childhood, when you’re told how very bright and special you are. Then, as you grow up and inevitably encounter challenges with which you can’t easily cope, you discover you don't have all the answers and may not be exceptional after all. ‘No wonder you feel you don't deserve success,’ says Clancy.
The labels parents and others tend to give you from an early age may also play a part, especially if they compared you with your sisters or brothers. So if you were always the ‘sensitive’ child in your family – even if you scored higher marks than your siblings – and weren’t recognised for your intelligence, you will tend to doubt it later, whatever objective evidence you receive to the contrary. And if you were given the role of ‘the clever one’ you may struggle under the pressures of expectation and not wanting to let people down.
Not conforming to stereotypical expectations attached to gender or race may be a factor too, especially when you find yourself in a position of authority. ‘Some gifted women may feel pain at being different from “the way women are supposed to be” and have a need to hide their abilities to fit in more with “normal” society,’ says Douglas Eby, psychologist and author of the online article
Gifted Women: Identity And Expression. Rapid promotion, especially if you belong to a previously disadvantaged minority, can compound the problem: ‘When people advance too quickly they can be lauded too extravagantly, creating a gap between how others see them and how they see themselves,’ say Joan Harvey and Cynthia Katz, authors of
lf I’m So Successful Why Do l Feel Like A Fake? (St Martin’s Press).
SO WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?
1. First, identify the feeling of being an impostor. ‘Understand that you are not your behaviour,’ says Kleynhans.
2. Realise that you’re not alone.
3. Take a reality check. Separate your feelings from facts. Everyone has moments when they feel stupid but just because you feel stupid doesn’t mean you are stupid, says Young.
4. Change your response to mistakes. Remember what industrialist Henry Ford said: ‘Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.’
5. Let go of perfectionism. ‘Perfectionism can indicate a healthy drive to excel,’ says Young. ‘The trick is not to obsess over everything being “just so” and to forgive yourself when the inevitable mistakes occur.’
6. If you’re a ‘minority’ – working in a predominantly male field, for example, or among people of a different culture, or if you’re particularly gifted - know that it’s natural to feel at times that you don’t fit in. This has to do with being different – an ‘outsider’ – not with being inept, so don’t let it diminish your self-esteem.
7. Ask for help. Realise you’ve as much right as anyone to be wrong sometimes or to have a bad day and need assistance.
8. Change your automatic thoughts. When you start a new job, for example, instead of worrying that people will find out you don’t know what you’re doing, remind yourself that everyone starting out feels anxious and makes mistakes but that you’re bright enough to get on track.
9. Pat yourself on the back when you deserve it and accept compliments.
10. Remember the joke Indian columnist and IP sufferer Simran Bhargava tells on
www.expressindia.com: ‘What do you call an impostor 10 years from now? Boss.’