Imposter Syndrome and Neurodiversity
Imposter syndrome is like sitting in a room of people, feeling like everyone has their sh*t together, and you're the only one scrambling to keep up appearances. This feeling can cause panic and anxiety attacks. An estimated 70% of people experience impostor syndrome at some point in their lives, according to a review article published in the International Journal of Behavioral Science.
Imposter syndrome affects people from all walks of life, however those that are neurodiverse experience it at a much higher rate. A big reason for this is because we try to fit into the neurotypical standardized systems, then hide it when we're struggling.
How do you know if you have Imposter Syndrome? Psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes were the first to identify Imposter Syndrome, even creating a test to discover if you suffer from it too.
Some of the recognized behaviors are:
You don’t believe your success was connected to your hard work, intelligence, or creativity. Instead, you feel it must be due to luck, a fluke, or another random factor.
You don’t celebrate success. Instead, you look at the next thing that needs to be done. Rather than feel proud of the presentation you did, you think, "Yes, but what about the one in two weeks? I have to prepare for that." You spend no time basking in the glory of a job well done.
You spend lots of time and energy thinking about what didn’t go well, even if it was only a very tiny detail. You dwell on the negative, and you spend no time thinking about your successes.
You disregard your accomplishments or the praise you receive for them. You don’t believe you deserve it or feel that you should have done better.
You regularly compare yourself to others, and it is always unfavorable. You might think, "They didn’t have to work through the night to prepare the presentation, and they got better results than me.
When those of us with neurodiverse minds realize there is a name for how we’ve been feeling, there’s a huge sense of relief. We’re not alone, and despite not having typical minds, this is a typical experience. You are doing a good job and you DO deserve to be successful. You were hired because you have what it takes to accomplish anything you set your mind to.
A few things to keep in mind to overcome Imposter Syndrome:
Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) can also be helpful. CBT is focused on helping you learn to identify the automatic negative thoughts that contribute to feelings of imposter syndrome.
Make a checklist and track EVERYTHING. From walking the dog, to remembering to drink water, to tracking all your work tasks. Seeing a full checklist mostly completed will help you end your day feeling accomplished. It will also give you the opportunity to reflect on the good things you achieved at the end of your day.
Acknowledge human error, slow down, forgive yourself and move on. Harpering on a mistake will only escalate the issue, not solve it.
Start and end your day with positive affirmations. Train away that negative self talk, it takes 28 days to create a new habit, so for 28 days AT LEAST, be nice to yourself.
Release the shame and guilt you’re harboring. Easier said than done, but it is not impossible. You are good enough, you’re the only one that believes otherwise and therefore self sabotaging. You deserve more.
Living in a neurotypical world as a neurodivergent human can be difficult at the best of times, be kind to yourself and work through this imposter syndrome slowly but surely.
