Imposter Syndrome

In 2018 I attended a lecture where Dr. Rob Yeung a British Psychologist explained a concept called “imposter Syndrome” I had never heard of this word before. Everything he said left me almost speechless as I identified with the majority. 

As I began coaching I couldn’t help but also notice such strong elements during consultations with clients as we discussed their confidence and self esteem.  

PT’s struggling to find the confidence to believe in their craft and their business which was manifesting in their nutrition habits. Successful businessmen and women finding they could manage their professional life but they felt it all seemed a facade. “Fake it til you make it”. 

Impostor syndrome is a psychological pattern where a person feels internalised fear of being exposed as a fraud. 

Your sense of self is unstable and you always feel like your personality is just a bunch of scattered fragments.

The same fear plays in your head, over and over; the fear that you have been faking your entire personality and image, and someone finally looks beneath the mask to uncover your “true self” which is a bad person. 

You keep having these intrusive thoughts that you’re faking being a good person and you’re actually terribly selfish and cruel, and just pretending to care about other people. 

Logically you know that is very unlikely, logically you know that you’re just an average person who tries to be kind as much as you can, but sometimes acts wrongly or says something hurtful, like most other people do as well.

Imposter syndrome tells you “i’m terrible” and it’s just a matter of time before everyone finds out and abandons you. 

You struggle deeply to feel like you deserve any praise or compliments or achievements or successes, because you didn’t work hard enough and deep inside you don’t deserve them. Almost nothing feels earned or deserved, there’s this looming feeling that everything will be taken away when people realise that you don’t deserve them. 

If you get a job you feel guilty because you think you tricked the employer into thinking you’re capable

When you get a nice DM on Instagram there’s a voice in the back of your head that says “they wouldn’t have said that if they knew who you really are deep inside”. 

The more successes you have, the more intensely you feel that imposter syndrome becoming louder.

Can you relate? 

 The first start to tackling this is to understand who you are. What are your core values and where does your lack of confidence and self worth come from. 

It' natural to feel out of depth and nervous entering a new career or profession. Doing anything for the first time is going to be uncomfortable. You have no sets and reps under your belt. So don't mistake imposter syndrome for just "i'm doing something new and it's scary" 

Often we turn to food as a source of comfort to get us through these occasions. A very useful plaster and one i'm not against using. Emotional eating is not a long term strategy for avoiding uncomfortable emotions. At some point you will need to address it. 

If you feel like your Imposter syndrome is manifesting into your eating behaviors and habits. Consider 1:1 Nutrition coaching with me now. Submit the enquiry form on the main page. 

Kindness always 

Didi x