“It doesn’t go away, that feeling that you shouldn’t take me that seriously,” Obama said. “What do I know? I share that with you because we all have doubts in our abilities, about our power and what power is.” 

In a speaking engagement covered by CBS News, The New York Times, The National and BBC, Obama elaborated how those who suffered from impostor syndrome are plagued by self-doubt and often attribute their success and status to luck and coincidence.

The first known documentation of impostor syndrome was made in 1978, when psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes wrote a paper theorizing that women were uniquely affected by the idea that they did not deserve to be in the positions they held.

“Despite outstanding academic and professional accomplishments, women who experience impostor phenomenon persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise,” the two psychologists wrote in their paper.

Although years of research revealed that impostor syndrome affects anyone and everyone, regardless of gender and regardless of commendations or success, some researchers believe it affects minority groups harder, according to an article by The New York Times.

Moreover, up to 70 percent of people may experience impostor syndrome, according to an article published in the International Journal of Behavioral Science, of which the most common of symptoms include anxiety, coupled with fear of failure and dissatisfaction with life.

Valerie Young, who is considered an expert on impostor syndrome, has categorized five different types of impostor syndrome and how to mitigate each type. In an article published by Time, the different types of impostor syndrome are as follows:

Read also: Constantly self-doubting yourself? You're not alone

1. The Perfectionist

Perfectionists tend to set really high goals for themselves, or have high goals set for them by their peers, parent figures, or mentors. When these individuals fail to reach expectations, they are then plagued by self-doubt and constantly concern themselves with not messing up. These people tend to micromanage themselves and others, and experience difficulty in trusting others with tasks in group work, and become disappointed with high results because despite being high, they are not perfect results.

Despite these aspects, success and achieving actual perfection holds very little satisfaction for individuals who suffer from perfectionist impostor syndrome, because they should always be able to do better. Celebrating success properly and taking the time to take in one’s achievements can help mitigate the feeling of not being good enough. 

2. The Superhuman 

Those who experience the superhuman aspect of impostor syndrome feel that they are merely pretending to belong, while their colleagues do belong. Their insecurities cause them to burden themselves by doing things such as overtime work, and overloading on responsibilities -- taking more tasks than they have the capacity to do in order to measure up to their perception of everyone else around them. Superhuman sufferers tend to stay later at the office than the rest of their team even when they have completed their work, sacrifice their passions and hobbies, get stressed when they are trying to relax as they feel they are wasting their time and feel they have yet to earn their title.

Working too hard will damage relationships with others as well as an individual’s mental health. Superhuman imposters can be likened to workaholics, but instead of being addicted to the work itself, they are addicted to the validation that comes from overworking themselves. Learning to take constructive criticism and becoming more attuned to one’s internal desires will help alleviate symptoms of superhuman impostor syndrome.

3. The Natural Genius

People who suffer this type of impostor syndrome feel they need to appear as if they were born naturally gifted or smart. They judge themselves according to the ease and speed by which they can accomplish tasks, rather than effort -- so they feel ashamed or embarrassed when they take longer than the time they have set as their standard for completing a task. Like perfectionists, the Natural Genius will set impossibly high standards for themselves. Natural Genius sufferers will remember a track record of getting straight As, or gold stars, and were often told they were the “smart one” in their family or circle of peers and usually dislike having a mentor because they feel they should be able to handle their own tasks expertly on the first try. 

When these individuals experience setbacks, their self-confidence takes a dive as lower performances causes them to be ashamed of themselves. As a result, sufferers will tend to avoid challenges and prefer to show off by only taking on tasks they are familiar with. To alleviate this, remember that everyone, including yourself, is a work in progress and never a complete result. Even the most confident and capable of people make mistakes, and more often than not, their competency is the result of making many mistakes to improve over time. Remembering this, and taking the time to improve yourself instead of trying to rush to success will help mitigate these problems.

Read also: Book Review: 'Social Creature', a deathly tale in the Instagram age

4. The Soloist

Those who suffer from this tend to have a lone-wolf style of working on tasks, as they feel that needing to ask for help or advice means that they cannot validate themselves. Similar to the Natural Genius, they do not like having mentors, with the difference being that they feel they need to be able to accomplish everything on their own in order to gain credibility. Soloist imposter syndrome sufferers tend to firmly believe that the only achievements worth acknowledging are achievements made with only their own effort without input from anyone else. Constantly saying “I don’t need anyone’s help” is referenced by a list made by Valerie as being common for those who suffer from this type of impostor syndrome. They often neglect their own needs as a person in order to fit a certain standard, as if they are working on a project when taking requests from others.

The first step to overcoming this self-imposed stigma is to recognize that everyone, great or small has parental figures or teachers in their lives. Knowledge and skill is passed down and no man is an island when it comes to learning, growing, and accomplishing tasks. Sharing your thoughts with an affinity group can also help unravel the tight hold one has over their own accomplishments being invalid.

5. The Expert

Those who suffer from the expert type of impostor syndrome feel that they should know anything and everything there is to know about a project or a task at hand before beginning. They often want to be certified or receive official training before they even begin to think about starting a journey towards a goal. People who want to be seen as experts will tend to not apply for job openings that they do not fit all the requirements for, or are hesitant to ask questions or speak up in meetings as they fear looking dumber than everyone else in the room. Bulking up one’s skill set can keep you competitive in the job market, and will help you professionally, but the tendency to seek out more information with no end in sight can be very detrimental to one’s career as it can result in procrastination.

Seeking out help will greatly alleviate the fears that come to sufferers of expert impostor syndrome. A career coach or a colleague who is an expert in a subject you are not familiar with will not only improve your relationships with others, it will help one form connections which will also help in your professional career, but also saves time. Assurance that you have the guidance of an expert will also help boost your confidence, as you do not need to rely on only your opinion, as nobody can be a master of everything.

For anyone who has experienced impostor syndrome, or is currently suffering but has yet to identify what form of impostor syndrome (or if you’re suffering from more than one), there are steps you can take now, in order to start your journey to alleviating symptoms, and if you aren’t “able to internalize and own their successes”, according to psychologist Audrey Ervin.

1. Join or form a group

“A sense of belonging fosters confidence,” said Young. “The more people who look or sound like you, the more confident you feel.”

With any psychological or emotional problems, talking about your problems with those who can relate to you will help alleviate the self-stigmatization and help begin or continue the journey to understanding and overcoming these issues.

“People high in impostorism typically struggle alone, silently,” Dr. Ockley explained. “If you’re feeling that way, you are most certainly not the only person feeling that way.”

Read also: 'We are performers': Tara Burton talks about social media, faith and impostor syndrome

2. Accept a mentor’s help

“The goal is not to never feel like an impostor,” Young explained.

Having a professional anchor to help you overcome difficulties in your practice or profession will help you feel more grounded. By sharing experiences, you will be able to hone your own unique perspective and skills, and this helps you have a sense of knowing exactly what you are doing, because you have teachings and directions as to why, as well as your own personal thoughts and possibly differing opinions as checks and balances.

“Being alone puts you in a circumstance where you’re not only questioning yourself, but also looking for agreement in others,” said head of global diversity, inclusion and belonging at LinkedIn, Rosanna Durruthy. 

With this, having a mentor to verify information with will help one feel more validated in their own decisions, and provides a balance for when one is wrong or needs advice.

3. Take notes

Keeping a record at all the times you received positive feedback, as well as negative feedback will remind you that you have grown as an individual and as a professional. Keeping a record of these instances will also serve as evidence, which can be verified by your peers, or mentors. However, it is important not to treat this record as a scoreboard, but more as evidence of your accomplishments, when you are challenged by either yourself, or another person in regards to your position or title.

“You don’t really know whether your feelings of impostorism are due to being a minority — i.e., being underrepresented — versus being treated differently,” Dr. Cokley said.

“I suspect that discrimination can also exacerbate the impact of impostorism” he explained, and likewise, “feeling like an impostor can exacerbate the impact of discrimination”, which can turn into a cycle, if not identified and mitigated. (acr/kes)

Popular

New Dutch coalition government wants 'strictest' asylum policy

Single-class hospital care scheme will not affect premiums yet, BPJS says

Ukrainians, Russian face death over Bali drug lab: Police