The imposter syndrome

Many of us have felt this way at some point. Not a day or two, but for a long time. We think we’re useless at work and we make our brain believe that we’re some kind of imposters.

Man or woman, young or elderly, nobody is safe. We tell ourselves “I can’t do that”, we play on repeat “I don’t know how to do it and the others do”, we’re afraid that “some day they’ll find out and catch me, I’m not fit for this”, or “this is just make up”.

If you ever felt that way, you are not alone. This has a name: the imposter syndrome. You know as much as others do, you walk the same way and follow the same process as other, you learn at the same speed as others… but you don’t believe that.

According to experts, this syndrome doesn’t last forever and it can “go away” on its own. It’s not a disease, but if you don’t look after the issue it can turn into anxiety and some other issues. It needs help from the people around you, but it also needs sincerity on your side. It’s not related with your learning abilities nor with how many subjects you’ve passed, nor with the need to show that you have knowledge, and neither with working hard and not obtaining the right results. This is something else: this is in your mind.

We all do things right and we all do things wrong. Never 2 persons are going to work the same, nor make the same effort to obtain the same results. But this syndrome is not about that: this is about mental health.

Last: do you know who affects this syndrome the most? People on learning environments. Both students and teachers.

Take care. And take care of the ones around you.