How I overcame Imposter Syndrome………Step 2
Overcoming for me has been a process, hence Step 2. It didn’t happen overnight and I have to say the syndrome came on just as slow.
The definition of the syndrome...
Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism,
fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in
which individuals doubt their skills, talents, or accomplishments and
have a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".
For me, it began with medicine. This is common, people experience it when they are reaching higher in their career and it mainly affects women.
It became so bad I had to take time off work for about 3 months. It was a difficult time for me, but I was given a great perspective by someone. They asked me a whole lot of questions and helped me discover that a bullying episode as a PGY2, that's the second year out of medical school impacted me.
Although I had dealt with it within the department at the time, I hadn't dealt with it internally, within myself. I was already starting to experience imposter syndrome prior to this and this event exacerbated it. It was a good year after the initial insult that I just couldn't face work anymore.
Recently I discovered the term 'Multipotentialite', and that I am one. This has helped me understand myself a bit better. I now see that I like doing new things and that means I am constantly a novice. This same person with the previous good advice showed me I was very accomplished in my life, and I had lived many lives over the years, but my inquisitiveness meant that I want to try new things.
So I have now reshaped my view of myself.
- It is ok to be a novice and not know it all.
- It's ok to ask questions and make mistakes as that is how you learn.
My previous employer encouraged me through a regular weekly email to join the well-being index and it has enabled me to track my recovery.
My latest record and why it’s important
As you can see below my very first score is extreme, but I just pushed on and didn't seek help,
I thought I was fine, but what it lead to was severe fatigue, poor quality of life, lack of meaning in my work, increased likelihood of burnout and ultimately likelihood of a medical error.
So while we push on, we risk poor outcomes all around and if left long enough can lead to psychological distress and thoughts of self-harm.
As you can see my recovery wasn't linear there was a little blip in there, I can tell you now by taking control of my situation and reaching out I was able to get help. My distress actually scared me!
I live in a small community where everyone knows everyone, so for me being able to find help from doctors I don't know was key to my recovery. So, get yourself a GP, it's really important. Not for when you are sick psychologically or physically but for life.
Where to get help
If you already have a trusted GP, great, but if you don't, look at Drs4Drs.
Drs4Drs are there to help doctors and medical students in Australia stay healthy. They do incredibly important work in all areas of health, not just mental health, check them out here: Drs4Drs
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