Imposter syndrome & mental health
As we enter mental health week it is important to highlight the help and support that is available. Mental health is at the forefront of many a business’s priorities these days and the support and guidance offered by them is improving. I work with many clients in the Financial Services industry, and I know that the Mortgage Industry Mental Health Charter (MIMHC) has released the findings of its latest survey https://mimhc.co.uk/mimhc-mental-health-wellbeing-survey-report-2023/ which makes interesting reading.
One key challenge that can influence mental health is imposter syndrome and one that many people do not like to admit to in the workplace. So, time to dispel a few myths about it and to help more people talk about it.
- Imposter syndrome is an internal experience of believing that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be.
- It is the persistent inability to believe one’s success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved because of one’s own efforts or skills.
- Around 25%-30% of high achievers may suffer from imposter syndrome.
- Around 70% of adults may experience imposter syndrome at least once in their lifetime.
There are many types of imposter syndrome where people overcompensate for their feelings, and it is these that can trigger mental health issues.
- Natural Genius: They set exceedingly high targets for themselves and then feel crushed when they fail to meet them.
- Expert: Always striving to learn more but always critical of themselves and their levels of understanding.
- Soloist: Won’t ask for help as they see it as a sign of weakness or being seen as incompetent, so they prefer to work alone.
- Superhero: Always overworking themselves to try to compensate for how inadequate they feel about themselves.
- Perfectionist: Always focusing on their flaws instead of their strengths, so never completely satisfied with their work.
Many things can trigger this including changing jobs, career changes, promotion, redundancies at their company making them feel insecure are just some of the work focused ones but life events in our personal life can also seep into how we see ourselves at work.
Any of these triggers cause stress that effects the body which can then lead to poor diet choices which then exasperate how we feel about ourselves. This then becomes a recurring loop of self-criticism and poor diet choices as we constantly chastise ourselves.
From a personal level I have suffered many times around imposter syndrome during my life. Totally changing career paths after the birth of my daughter from being a key account manager in the mortgage industry to a career as a registered nutritionist triggered many fears of inadequacy.
The first challenge was having to go back to studying again after over 20 years and into a profession that has a strong scientific aspect which was never my strong point. I have always had an unnatural fear of exams and many a panic attack preceded the modules, assignments, and exams.
Secondly having to carry out my clinic observations in front of my fellow students touched on another of my fears of presenting. I am not afraid to share that melt downs and sleepless nights happened on a regular basis the weeks before the deadlines as I tried every single coping mechanism I could find.
Finally, once I qualified (I still pinch myself now) the whole am I good enough for this, why would people trust me with their health and wellbeing and how will I get clients crept in initially. The fear of failure is a key component of imposter syndrome. Even now when I get a recommendation from a previous client or a positive testimonial, I can still struggle to acknowledge that it is because I did a good job.
Deep down I know I do a good job; I know I help transform people’s lifestyles and make them happy but maybe because I see such big transformations, I find it hard to acknowledge that I have helped that person achieve this.
I have used many techniques on myself and my clients that utilise both my nutritional training and psychological approach to help overcome the triggers that cause imposter syndrome, allow them to continue to make the right choices and to progress in their respective careers.
If you would like to know more about how I can help you then book your FREE 30-minute health assessment at www.pkrnutrition.com
