Why Every Working Woman Needs to Know About Impostor Syndrome

     
 

"Impostor phenomenon" may sound like the name of a little-known Tom Clancy novel, but it has become a serious issue among professionals, andit's especially adept at infesting the minds of young women.

 It can masquerade as low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression, but those are all just manifestations of a phenomenon first observed by psychologists Dr. Pauline R. Clance andDr. Suzanne Imesin 1978. 

Also commonly known as "impostor syndrome, the phenomenon occurs when individuals convince themselves thattheir accomplishments are not due to their own intelligence or hard work. 

They feel as though theirsuccess should be credited to luck or forces beyond their control, and they believe that at any moment, their friends and colleagues will discoverthem

 for the fraud they truly are. In short, it's twisted.I spoke to Dr. Imes and a fellow expert,Dr.

 Valerie Young(who quite literally wrote the book on it) about the phenomenon, and what — if anything — people can do to overcome their negative feelings.

What Is the Impostor Phenomenon?The phenomenon can appear in different ways andin many different types of people, but the bottom line is that the individual doesn't feel responsible for her own success. 

Perhaps she gets a promotion, but she tells herself that it's only because her boss got a promotion and they needed to fill the space — not because she's earned the position.

 Not only does she feel she doesn't deserve the new gig, but she is also certain that her peers will discover that she doesn't know what she's doing at all.