Hey Friend!
As a screenwriter, a hypnotherapist, an educator with a Master’s degree, and even as a mom, I’ve experienced intense moments of insecurity and self-doubt, commonly referred to as “imposter syndrome.” At these times, I’m inundated with thoughts like:
“I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“I’m not that smart.”
“She’s better at this than me.”
“I’m going to fail at this; how embarrassing.”
“I need more training.”
“I’m not good enough.”
The psychological pattern Imposter Syndrome or Fraud Syndrome was first recognized by Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes in a 1978 research paper. It can be defined as “internally believing that you are not as competent and intelligent as others are…you fail to take credit for your success.”
Here are the range of symptoms Clance and Imes identified with imposter syndrome:
– Feeling inadequate
– Self-doubt
– Negative self-talk
– Sabotaging your own success
– Setting unrealistic goals and feeling like a failure when they can’t be achieved
– Anxiety
– Constantly comparing yourself to others
– Extreme lack of confidence
– Failure to trust your own intuition
Furthermore, in his article “Imposter Syndrome and Hypnotherapy Tools,” psychologist, NLP practitioner and hypnotherapist, William Horton describes personality types that can be prone to imposter syndrome:
The Perfectionist
These types are not satisfied with what they have done and they always feel that their work could be better. Instead of focusing on strengths, they stress over smaller mistakes. This constant tension can lead to depression and self-sabotage.
The Expert
These types are not satisfied with their ocean of knowledge, skills or certificates and always want to learn more and more. They pass up projects if they don’t feel they have 100% of the skills needed to complete that project successfully. This tension can lead to stagnant career advancement, as they always underrate their expertise.
The Natural Genius
These types, though naturally competent and skilled in a particular area, can often feel crushed if they face a difficult task and fail on the first try. This tension can lead to easily giving up, playing it too safe, or feeling humiliated and doubting/rejecting their inherent gifts/skills.
The Soloist
These types prefer to work alone and therefore refuse help from others, as they see this as a weakness. This tension can lead to overwhelm and poor performance, which can lead to self-sabotage.
The Superman/Superwoman
These types always push themselves to work as hard as they can. They often do a good job and need to succeed in all areas, but this tension can lead to unrealistic expectations, burnout, depression and self-sabotage.
Horton notes, “Imposter syndrome is related to other psychological disorders, including stress, depression and anxiety…the feelings experienced by a person who is suffering from imposter syndrome tend to go in a rhythm. The more the person achieves, the more they feel they don’t achieve, and they don’t deserve it.”
Many people at various points in their lives will be affected by Imposter syndrome. Horton identities “situations where people interact” as breeding grounds for Imposter syndrome; situations like a challenging work environment, a new or unfamiliar environment, a social platform in which new relationships are being formed, a family setting with high expectations, and any academic environment. Also, whenever we take on new role (become a parent, get a new position, move to a new town) we may be prone to feeling like a fraud and our feelings of inadequacy may be triggered.
Imposter syndrome is rooted in a lack of self-confidence, self-worth and self-esteem. To help you avoid feeling like an imposter or to shift those feelings once they start, I recommend taking one or more of these questions into your self-hypnosis sessions:
– Am I jumping to conclusions too quickly about this situation? Do I have any facts to back up these thoughts?
– Think of someone you love, if they were in this situation, how would you motivate and encourage them?
– What can I do to change my feelings about this?
– Is there another, positive way to see this situation?
– What do I gain by playing small? What do I gain by taking a risk?
– When was a time that you were enough, when you succeeded? How did that feel? How can you feel that way about this situation?
If you’d like more guidance on this, I’ve recently changed up the format for the monthly group hypnosis sessions. Instead of meeting for a live session once a month, I’ve decided to send out a hypnosis recording on the first of the month for the group to listen to throughout that month. We then have a pop-in, group meet at the end of each month to share our successes and ask questions. My goal is to provide you with a library of self-affirming and helpful hypnosis tracks to support you throughout your life. If you’d like to be added to the list to receive monthly, free hypnosis recordings, click here or comment to this post saying “add me to the list.”
This recording was aptly called “Confidence in Strengths and Talents.” To listen to the 10 minute recording, click below.
Remember, confidence is an inside job. For most of our lives, we’ve been conditioned to believe we’re not good enough, we don’t have enough expertise, we aren’t ready for that next step, and we’re going to fail if we stretch beyond our comfort zone–but all those thoughts are just our limiting beliefs…and we can change those and find the courage to move beyond them.
The truth is you are good enough. You are worthy of a beautiful life. There is no such thing as perfect. Everyone is still learning, no one has it all figured out. You know what you know, and you deserve to be seen and heard.
Don’t play small. Don’t hide from your well-deserved praise. Call out that imposter insecurity when it tries to show up, and let hypnosis get you back on track!
Happy editing,
Robin
