Life with impostor syndrome – and the doubt constantly gnaws: “Today I’m being busted” – culture

They meet all the requirements for their job and the feedback is good. Nevertheless, those affected are accompanied by the constant fear of being exposed as a fraudster. It can even end in burnout.

Alex is 30, has a degree in biology, a lot of work experience and works successfully in a conservation agency. His superiors are happy. The feedback from the team is good.

Nevertheless, the critical voice in Alex’s head keeps ringing up: “Now stand here and tell me how we’re going to tackle the problem. Actually, I have no idea.” Alex keeps feeling like an impostor – even though he’s not.

The biologist has very high demands on himself: According to his ideas, a “real” biologist should, on the one hand, prefer to be in nature. At the same time, he would have to do more desk work.

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Those affected by impostor syndrome are often popular employees because they do very good work. For them, however, the imposter feeling is unpleasant: it costs a lot of energy, is shameful and can cause a lot of stress.

You can’t do enough. you know too little Do you want to be an expert?

«I hate mistakes. And I never really learned how to make them,” says Alex. Affected people like him try to avoid mistakes at all costs. Because if one came out, they fear, it would become common knowledge that they can’t really do anything.

Doubt grows with success

Michaela Muthig also carries the feeling of demonstrating competence to others. The former senior physician is now an expert on imposter syndrome – primarily from her own experience.

«Even now in the interview I hear the little impostor voice: You can’t do enough. you know too little Do you want to be an expert?” says Michaela Muthig.

Legend:

Distorted perception: Those affected by impostor syndrome have the feeling that they are only pretending to be competent to others.

SRF/Simon Krebs

The inner critical voice had spoken particularly strongly after her promotion to senior physician. Today she knows: “This is typical of the imposter syndrome. In moments of success, self-doubt becomes particularly strong.”

Michaela Muthig decides to deal intensively with the syndrome until she specializes entirely in it: she writes the non-fiction book “And tomorrow I’m flying up” and today offers coaching for those affected.

Distorted self-perception, unclear facts

Muthig cannot say how widespread the psychological phenomenon is. On the one hand, the number of unreported cases is very large because the feeling is so shameful.

On the other hand, when subjects in psychological studies are asked about the syndrome, many say they have it. But they wouldn’t mention it of their own accord. According to According to a 2011 study, a good 70% of people will come into contact with impostor syndrome at some point in their lives.

Legend:

Talking about it helps. Because then those affected notice: I’m not alone with the feeling.

SRF/Simon Krebs

So impostor syndrome is hard to pin down. However, some characteristics can be identified:

• Experts assume an impostor spectrum: At one end are the people who don’t even know the feeling. On the other side are those who suffer greatly from it. The intensity can vary for individuals depending on their phase of life.
• The impostor syndrome is not considered a mental illness in its own right, but rather a personality trait. In individual cases, however, it can lead to great stress, depression or burnout.
• The origin of impostor syndrome often lies in childhood. Those affected have acquired a distorted understanding of intelligence and competence. As an example, the expert Michaela Muthig cites the “natural talent” type: the affected person thinks they would only be intelligent if they didn’t have to make an effort to get good results. But she has to. In order not to be exposed as stupid, she has to hide her great effort at all costs.
• People from social minorities are particularly susceptible to the feeling of being exposed as an impostor: people of color, people with a migration background or those who have “risen” from a working-class milieu to a higher class. A prominent example is Michelle Obama, ex-First Lady of the USA. They often lack role models at work with whom they can identify.

Tackling the inner critic

“Talking about it is the very first step out of the uncomfortable feeling,” says impostor coach Michaela Muthig. “That takes away the shame of the imposter feeling and you realize: I’m not the only one with the problem!” You should also gather information on the topic, she advises.

The impostor’s big brother: unhealthy perfectionism

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Legend:

Joëlle Huser is a specialist in unhealthy perfectionism and impostor syndrome.

Lehrmittelverlag Zurich, 2021

“The impostor syndrome is a manifestation of unhealthy perfectionism,” says expert and coach Joëlle Huser. People who know the imposter feeling often have

• perfectionist tendencies
• a high sensitivity
• and high potential

Huser writes on the subject and coaches gifted children and adults in her practice in Zurich. Her clients include highly specialized experts from research, the financial sector and the judiciary. «Often they come to me for coaching with depression or after burnouts. Many only find out about impostor syndrome here. That alone often creates great relief.”

Humor also helps: The methods that perfectionism expert Joelle Huser recommends to clients in her practice can bring joy – and condition the brain of those affected to:

• “The gymnastics exercise”: In the morning you should always ask yourself: “How high are my demands on my own performance?” The arm often shoots up far above the head. “If you walk around with this arm position for a moment, you quickly realize that it’s very strict.” If you put your arm in a more comfortable position, at hip height, you can say to yourself: “Today I’ll go through the day with this posture.” That means, for example, asking superiors for more time before taking on new tasks.
• Keep a diary of the good moments: “Important here: It’s not about celebrating huge successes, but about everyday little things: the birdsong in the morning or the nice smile of the bus driver.”

In the case of sustained high levels of stress or the risk of burnout, coaching as part of psychotherapy can help.

Setting the course in the work culture

Not only for those affected, but also from the point of view of superiors and companies, it makes sense to be aware of the impostor syndrome. In principle, all employees in a company could benefit from certain elements, according to the work psychologist Christian Fichter from Zurich.

• Self-Efficacy Experience: This is especially helpful for people who work on long-term projects and spend a lot of time in front of the computer screen at work. Define smaller milestones at intervals of a maximum of a few weeks, during which a location assessment and feedback take place and the next milestones are defined.
• Differentiated feedback: In order for praise to really go down well with people with impostor syndrome, it has to be “good”. That means: prompt, personal and differentiated. On the other hand, an impersonal email to the workforce with “Thank you very much for your work” does not arrive.
• Good error culture: According to Fichter, he doesn’t want to glorify mistakes. But they happen, everywhere and always. An appreciative error culture is needed, in which something can also be risked. “Otherwise service is rendered to rule, and that is poison for any innovation.”