In a society where we are told time and again that our appearance, image, self-worth and self-present are the only paths to success many millions of people walk through their days with an immense sense of feelings as false, illegitimate and fraud. This is otherwise known as imposter syndrome, a widespread problem for everyone. You might feel as though the recognition, success, or whatever it is that you desire will come as soon and they do, you are going to be revealed in some way. If this is you… never fear, simply find a therapist that can help you dig deep and grow to love yourself for who you are.
Understanding Imposter Syndrome: Why Do You Feel Like a Fraud?
That whisper then goes through a cycle following this logic: it is imposter syndrome and so you are fine. Is the secret thought that you are In fact not as great at this as everyone else seems to think you are. Even with evidence of success, people who have imposter syndrome are more likely to assume that their achievements were coincidental or timed well and they faked other into believing they are smarter or more capable than they actually are. This leads to a never-ending cycle of stress, overwork and burnout as people worry about being found out.
It is not restricted to just the work environment. Work is not the only place where imposter syndrome creeps in— it can seep into your personal life, making you feel like a fraud in everything from romance to parenting or even socializing. The frustration of feeling totally separate from your authentic self and the worthiness that lives within you will wreak havoc on your mental health.
There are many things that can cause imposter syndrome but they usually have their root in your childhood, society or certain personality traits (e.g. perfection and need for approval). Well, with no matter where these feelings come from comes the solution… so finding your way back to yourself.
The Importance of Self-Connection
Self-connection is the pillar of self-worth, self-love, and self-compassion. Moving further away from our cradle, outside opinions, societal norms and the virgin dialogue inside us about what we have come to believe it is for example life or how we should act. This gap further cements the idea that you are an imposter, or not good enough.
Therapy is about starting to facilitate the connection that was lost with yourself. A path of connecting to your core values, wants, and feels (instead of the. what you think) Once you start connecting with yourself, all of you — the good and bad, your strength and your flaws — it starts feeling right.
Here’s how therapy can help:
Recognising and Combatting Negative Thoughts fromRepeating
Cognitive-Behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the main ways that therapists help people to connect with themselves. By and large, CBT centers around finding your negative idea designs that lead to feeling like a fraud. Otherwise, they can attempt to identify when their brain is spewing cognitive distortions like, “I actually don’t deserve success,” or “This whole time I’ve been faking it pretending I know what the fuck I’m doing,” and recognize that these thoughts are perfect examples of your reality not matching up to… well, actual reality.
This is exactly what you work on in therapy challenging these thoughts and replacing them with more sane, realistic beliefs. You will begin to recognize all you have done and that success is not default, it is achieved. Over time, this changes the way you view yourself and helps you develop a healthier sense of self.
Exploring Your Authentic Self
So instead, we fake it until we make it out of this fear that one day the world will discover the truth You. By providing that safe space, therapy opens up a door for you to explore who you are and what matters to you, allowing yourself the chance to truly live in alignment with your authentic self.
This involves looking at your deepest beliefs, values, and needs. In many cases, the pressures or expectations of society, family, work and even #culture make us become someone we believe will be accepted. Yet in doing so, we lose our real self. Yourself at its truest and therapy allows you to strip those layers away.
If you are in tune to your real self, then it does not make sense to feel like a phoney. In doing so we begin to live in more alignment and confidence arises out of no longer pretending to be who we are not.
Developing Self-Compassion
Part of the reason people feel like impostors is due to their tendency for self-criticism. By always striving to meet a standard that is impossible, you are only dooming yourself to fail and feel unworthy. Therapy is a good place to develop self-compassion (treating yourself with the same kindness, warmth and understanding as you would a friend in distress).
Self-compassion is an antidote to this perfect storm of guilt, whereas it is the acknowledgment that you as a human would have frustrations, failures, and doubts just like everyone else. Instead of beating yourself up when things go wrong, therapy helps you be kinder and more compassionate towards yourself.
Adopting self-compassion is a necessary element of learning to love yourself. And, allowing yourself to ease back on perfectionism and accept that your working progress the less fraudulent you will feel, the more normal your humanity.
Developing Self-Worth and Self-Esteem
Self-worth is the internal worth you are so proud of regardless of what your relationship, career title or salary says. Imposter Syndrome typically comes from placing your self worth in external things like success, praise (imposter syndrome at its core is caring what others think about you), or validation. Therapy aims to separate your value and worth from these external measures, so that you can build more secure forms of internal validation.
Therapy can help you process and understand that your successes are not an accident, irrelevant or non-existent. Rest-assured, you also don’t want to miss how-to affirm your own value when things might not go as planned.
When you nourish self- love is when you will begin to start loving yourself not just for what you do, but simply because of who you are.
Introduction to Mindfulness and Emotional Awareness
Imposter syndrome tends to come with a lot of worrying about what happens next, and it means you can not be here in the present. Meditation or deep breathing exercises are often highlighted as ways to bring the mind and body back to the present. In therapy, you may learn forms of mindfulness that can help you see your own thoughts and feelings from a place of curiosity rather than judgment.
With greater emotional intelligence you can learn to spot the signs of impostor feelings emerging and deal with them correlated, making their existence less damaging. This is the simple truth that knowing how you feel doesn’t mean this is who you are, and feelings come and go. Through practicing vulnerability in the small day to day things in your life, you can appreciate yourself- flaws and all, even more.
Baby Steps to Being a REAL ImmeddiategetPostTitle SUBSCRIBE & GET STARTED!
Therapy may ask you to take steps to live authentic. That could involve establishing limits, using the word ”no” where applicable, and making choices that are based upon what you actually want to do rather than what everyone else does. Confident that you can make small, consistent decisions over time to live in alignment with who you are.
You may not completely acheive owning who you really are, and it won’t happen overnight but with the help of a true support system, you will make strides that give others permission to do the same. Therapy is not just about managing imposter syndrome, but it can help you live a life where who you are feels like coming home to yourself, loving yourself more deeply than you ever have before, and really no needing to pretend anymore.
Conclusion: Therapy to Self-Love and Connection
Impostor syndrome is an incredibly wearing and depressing experience, but it is also not mutually exclusive with deciding to reclaim your life. Therapy can help you to awaken the light inside of you, kickstart the process of questioning these beliefs and myths, and guide you towards fostering an unshakeable love for yourself. In therapy, you will be pushed to love and accept yourself… despite your fear of being discovered as a phoney. And you should also live like this: honestly, bravely, and Compassionately.
If you would like to start the journey toward self-connection and self-love, please reach out and request individual counselling. You do not have to make this journey by yourself help is out there that can assist you in moving towards an better more authentic version of your life.
