I am kinda same but I had some success that was quite noticable in past and I still felt like I am not worth it ; that I was just lucky; that someone just have to be top x% in some activity because that's just part of statistics. I feel disconnected when I do something good. But when I do something poorly it affects me a lot. I feel really stupid and insignificant .
matrixfull - You are NOT insignificant! Your comment provided me another connection that tells me I am not alone in this, and that there are ways I can improve. Thank you!
I half way do and don't. I need proof b4 ppl wanna boost my head up. But when I get it, I'm quiet about sh. Bc whether ppl directly hear sh from the source or through the grapevine I know that naturally here comes the h8. And for no damn reason. Im not a any attention is good attention type, or a ppl pleaser, I just dont like to feel vulnerable... yo, I can't help youre a hater tho. But hating me is not gonna change anything
I think it's very telling that people don't feel they deserve praise because they "only worked harder," suggesting that we treat natural ability as more praise-worthy than hard work. This makes sense, because when we're children, we've all been told one thing and shown another -- we're told in a general sense that "working hard" is good, but we're repeatedly shown that praise only comes to those who succeed without effort.
I learned something very interesting in a discussion with my friend of Asian descent who is about to become a doctor. Her Asian friends attributed her success to "studying hard," whereas my comment was that she was "smart." I automatically assumed that she was far brighter than most people, but in her culture it was assumed that she was a normal person who worked hard. I thought this was very telling.
Perhaps, although I think in some circles calling someone smart is more broad than that. At least in my friend groups calling someone smart implies aptitude but also implies having done the work to learn things, since the aptitude is only potential.
Shawn Ravenfire. Yes! Unfortunately it took me until my sophomore year in college to realize this (obvious affected my self-esteem). You are totally right!
Patience and persistence causes success. 'Natural ability' is simply a natural liking of a subject causing patience and persistence to come naturally, but it all came from the same thing. It is the fear of being called weird or a nerd that discourages such persistence naturally. Those who became a success without education is not proof that education is useless, but proof that success depends on an individuals patience and persistence first and foremost, so the obstacles of learning what was needed to be learned were not a problem to overcome. It is actually the anti-intellectual turn of society which is doing people an injustice. If people were not afraid to be interested in education, it would breed success naturally. This is why a lot of people were only able to find success after removing themselves from the social stigma which prevented it. People being afraid to be knowledgeable on subjects out of fear of alienating others, or out of fear of sounding like they are talking down to them. Other people being afraid to be knowledgeable on subjects out of fear of being singled out for being exceptional, and bullied physically for it. This encourages people to define themselves as being below average, as they deem it as more socially acceptable and likable, and this definition of themselves causes them to undervalue everything they do the rest of their lives.
You should do an episode on "The Dunning-Kruger effect" which is basically the opposite of the impostor syndrome. This is where low-ability individuals believe that they are academically and intellectually superior than they actually are. You could call this arrogance.
Tbh I probably think I’m better than I am so I relate a lot to the people that are affected with the dunning krüger effect! I mean I am pretty dumb and ugly but probably think I’m so awesome and smart and handsome but whatever! I bet you think “ Wow wut a prime example for the imposter effect!” But I’m probably lying about how bad I think I am because of how dumb I am! So yea that was that!
Yes Hank ;) and i like his style too. They are the same team he is on SciShow and this is SciShow Psych. So i wouldn't consider it copying. Its more of their team's style :) And not everyone can do it so naturally.
Anne nope not alone this has been a big thing for my family to overcome we saw how we were treating each other could be planting the self doubt and it's been a hard road.
Nope. You arent the only one. I got a job in the july of last year. The interviewer was from the same college as i was. I later attributed my selection to this very fact. Needless to say I started having severe seld doubt and thinking I wasnt good enough. The stress was getting too much. I always used to feel like a fraud, as if I were there because of luck and not because of my caliber. I left it after 6 months. This video was truly comforting
omg, thank you for this video! I always thought it was strange that I didn't like receiving praise. I do suffer from clinical anxiety and depression; whenever I get praised I feel awkward and get anxious
i've felt like this many times before and even still do now. it's weird because i am aware of how smart i am at several stuffs and pretty confident about myself. but whenever i achieve something, i just feel like i get it because of luck, like i put no effort at all even though in reality i put some effort into it. it's like it's hard to acknowledge my own ability to achieve something i'm good at. praises make me feel good but a part of me feels like i don't deserve those praises so i always tell people i just got lucky
This was one of the big reasons I dropped out of college. I recognized what was going on too, but the feeling was just too strong, combined with other equally self-destructive disorders
Yup, this describes me perfectly. Especially the endless loop of anxiety, procrastination, finishing the task in very little time, feeling proud for a little bit, then suddenly hating everything you've done and not being able to see your own accomplishments. I don't know how to fix it, I just look at myself and my life so far and I think: "Man, I did NOTHING worthwile and I have ZERO skills", although there is evidence to the contrary and even though I was always supported and appreciated by my family, friends and partner.
I grew up in a family with mixed messages. sometimes they would call me narcissistic or crazy and sometimes they would act like I was the best thing in the world.
I feel as though this ties into the Dunning-Kruger effect. High skilled individuals tend to underestimate their abilities and low skilled individuals tend to overestimate their abilities. Seems very common that those with talent and skill might feel as though they're lacking both.
People just think I’m being overly humble when I have a hard time accepting compliments and praises. I am humble, I just don’t think I preform as well as everyone around me makes it seem. I honestly hate this about myself because it makes me downplay/grade myself a lot, and it gives me a slight tendency to self sabotage a lot of opportunities and stuff. Even though I’ve been aware that my self judgement is unhealthy for a while now, I haven’t been able to over come it. It’s like I realize that I’m talented and smart and I’m a hard and diligent worker but I tend to quickly lose sight of that and this back and forth continues where I’m below par and then I realize my true worth and then it disappears all over again. I don’t know. Maybe I’m crazy. I absolutely love this channel though. The human mind is absolutely astonishing and complex, and I love the way you guys break everything down so a child could understand it. You guys helped me decide on being a psych major! Thank you so much! I can’t wait until I’m able to be a member of your patreon
Nova Fusion yeah they wouldn't explain to me why my son had a fecal obsession and likes to collect poop of different animals and harden it and place it into display cases.
Yeah... I'm having frequent such episodes, including recently... But for me personally at least, I know the cause - I am generally brutally honest with people, nitpicking on as they would let me before they explicitly ask me to stop (yeah, I don't get "hints"...). And I expect brutal honesty in return. Regardless of whether something is good/bad, I want to know what about it specifically is good/bad. The problem is I'm ALSO aware that most people are not brutally honest with me. The people who value me are too appreciative to even attempt noticing flaws or just say "it's awesome" without being able to pinpoint why (I want a comparison against a bad thing that I could've done, but didn't, damn it!). People who don't know me too well, or don't know what I do too well prefer to abstain from an opinion and/or give a superficial "it's fine" that is not helpful at all (because it doesn't let me reflect on the choices I made to get here...). I tend to get the most honest feedback from strangers, but as I react to address valid criticisms, the same strangers jump into one of the other two types of people.
Same here. That is one of the big reason I can't manage in any job. I can do the work but my honesty isn't thing coffee room politics like and even after when I say people tell me when to stop/what I'm doing wrong.. They still just don't say and complain to somewhere else and/or start bullying me. So I end up being extremely critical about everything I do - cause everything might be wrong.
This is definitely me. Example: I go to an interview, am told that they love how thorough I am, that I knew the right questions to ask etc... In my mind I am thinking "I'm not thorough I only knew to do all of that because I read books on it, watched videos and talked to people beforehand.." Then I sit back for a minute and realize like "oh.. wait.. that is kind of thorough." but still I don't feel like the praise is deserved, like as if what I presented to them was just an act and not the real me. I've slowly grown out of this though over the last couple years as I''ve asserted to myself that my accomplishments are my own.
Given that some psychologists actually hand out teddy bears for people to vent their feelings to; no not at all. Just make sure you're not replacing actual human contact with talking to your bear. But venting, even to a stuffed animal or other inanimate object, can relieve a lot of stress and if it works for you; why fix it? You do you Ines, don't let society pressure you into feeling weird ;D
I suppose it depends on what you call old. Even if you are actually old, and assuming you don't do it in public then I think it's safe to say that you are among about 7 billion people that do at least one weird thing in private.
Many people grow out of teddy bears and move into the realm of cats, bot chats, or 2D characters called "waifu." Just kidding. I still have my 20 year old stuffed dog. And I'm awful at keeping things. The best people are weirdos. You can either do it privately, or if interesting enough, start videos. I'm sure ventriloquism had to start somehow. That or maybe as a type of prank...
I still own most of my stuffed toys from childhood and I still love them dearly. Those kind of things are great outlets for your innermost feelings. This is a way of self-care and not unhealthy or weird at all. My partner and I both can sometimes process our feelings better by acting them out with stuffed animals, like getting the other's favorite toy and comforting them with it.
i'm like that all the time, about everything. despite everyone around me telling me that i'm above average, i just don't "want" to accept it. it's impacting my life severely
I'm a man and I just screwed up this last semester because of this. I had so many anxiety attacks over the last few months. It totally affects BOTH genders.
Sven Servette apache attack helicopter here,it also affects us....you have to be carful how you speak on the internet. everything is a gender and tacos sexually identify as pizza now.
+Noboduof Sora - According to the majority of biologists and psychologists, there are two genders. Only gender studies professors a a small number of ideologues in biology and psychology think otherwise.
You do realise that only like half way through the video she states "Since this was tested on women you would assume it only effects them, but studies show that it effects men and women as well as all ethnicity's". Can you actually just watch the video before you post BUT MEN please, bloody hell.
She does narration very well and has clear pronunciation without any of the highly annoying inflections and vocal effects which are all too common nowadays, just normal, clear speach. All of this makes it easier taking in the information.
This is the definition of me. I give myself impossible tasks and very little time to accomplish them. When something goes wrong, I feel guilty of causing that and remember it for days, even if it was just a small mistake. When these errors pile up, I have less and less self-confidence in accomplishing the task. After a very short streak of forecasting success, I begin to procrastinate. Eventually, I am way past the deadline and have no motivation to continue. I am noticing that I am doing the same with schoolwork. Sometimes, I try to promise myself to add something awesome to a lame project, like presenting a short animated video to explain what my essay is about. I spend all my time learning to craft the perfect animation until I realize that I wasn't paying utmost attention to the videos. Before I know it, I wasted all my time trying to learn a new skill. Then I spend the rest of my time writing an essay. It is a perfect essay, but I do not feel great about my work. Although I am happy that I finally got the project off my shoulders, I am not satisfied with the fact that I did not do something extra.
At least you were able to evaluate the situation and know to cut off a loss before it ate too much into your essay time. If it were me, I'd blow through until the last moment, and end up with a bs essay (like restating the same sentence and messing with margins terrible) ;o; I'm terrible at judging stuff for deadlines. Really though, if you wanted a super good animation (even for a five second short), it might have taken several months to learn to use the program*s*, design concepts, animation tips/effects for the polish, drawing? (Oh man, that adds a lot of time for each frame... 12 frames/second * 5+ secs...), audio mixing???, and putting it all together. Better to outsource to fiverr or something, haha. Not saying it was a bad idea. Just that you were RIGHT to try not to tackle multiple new crafts within your deadline & under pressure! Great though, if you want to try at your own time for your own pace!
Holy shit, I've always thought that I've been unconciously manipulating people into thinking I was better than I am, but now that I watch this I realize how crazy that sounds. Thank you, Sci Show!
If we confidently own our own experiences and tune into our personal strengths, we can combat imposter syndrome and begin to understand just how exceptional we are. So much emphasis is on professional and learned skills, rather than lived and personal experience. Focusing on your lived and personal experience and how that makes your perspective and contribution unique can be a fabulous way to start the process of combatting imposter syndrome. This is a fabulous explanation...loved it!
People who grew up in a household that valued negative feedback over positive feedback would likely be a huge contributing factor. It leaves people only noticing failures, and successes as simply dodging a bullet instead of seeing it for what it is.
I'm a first year in my grad program and this is my feeling exactly coming into class everyday. I hope that one day I can feel like I deserve this opportunity and it was all my hard work that got me in. The struggle is too reallll
i have a friend who is a total nerd, she keeps complaining how bad her preparation is but in the end always get highest scores. thanks to you now i know the name of her condition
I never realize that when I get into something, I get obsessively into it (like dead fish eye tired but still working away). At first I thought it was normal to work super hard, so that whenever someone complimented my work, I thought they were just being nice. It never felt like real compliments, so many awkward silence moments. Then I saw how other people worked effortlessly, and a friend even criticized my work habits. Now I get some bad mental blocks between weird feels of if I'm working too hard, or if I should be able to somehow work efficiently.
I definitely do this. I was a great student in high school while being an athlete and performing, got into the #6 chemical engineering program in the country and failed a class for the first time ever. Even before I started I said I wasn't smart enough and only got into the program for being a well rounded woman pursuing engineering and after I failed one class I thought that confirmed it. Even when people emphasize how nearly impossible it is to get where I am, I feel like a sham. I know to a degree that I'm smart, but I often get overwhelmed feeling like I've faked my way through life and that everyone who gave me opportunities did it by mistake and not because I deserve it.
3:08 Can we just take a moment to appreciate the hard work those brackets did just to trip out anyone looking at the center of the screen? You da' man, brackets!
I am extremely self-critical, find positive motivation patronizing, and set really high goals (not impossible goals, but maybe improbable goals given my current life situation), but I don't think I've ever doubted myself to where I start thinking I shouldn't be where I currently am.
I have been seeing therapists and psychologists since I was a teen, describing these exact feelings. Especially the anxiety , procrastination and feelings of undeserved praise in my academic career , which is why I have not gone on to grad school. I often feel like professors gave me the wrong grade. or they feel sorry for me. I have been told I suffer from generalized anxiety disorder and depression. I have never heard of this term before but I definitely think I need to bring it up next week.
A. Krishna Isley You should try meditation. When you practice to become aware of your mind, that might help you to wake up out of unpleasant thoughts and break the cycle of confusion and suffering.
Additionally, sex isn't male or female either. Intersex people (and a host of others that do not clearly fit into a clean male/female dichotomy) exist. And gender isn't a mental disorder.
Could you maybe do a video on the psychology of music? Like why music makes us emotional, why it enhances or detracts from stories, the chills you get when you hear good music, etc.
I’m currently suffering from heightened anxiety and semi depression. I feel like a underachiever at work and everyone is smarter faster and better than me. So I constantly compensate by working until I drop dead. I have stopped breakfast and lunch. It is horrible and I don’t know how to let this feeling go.
I honestly just assumed everyone felt this way whenever they did attempted to do/did something. I was unaware that this was not a general way to react to situations. This explains so much about the way people react to my immediate self doubt on projects or tasks.
Maggie May I feel great even about minor accomplishments, but I don't "own" them. I think everyone has access to a state of mind, which allows pleasure from success, but avoids states of confusion like pride and shame.
This is what I am going through right now. 4 months ago I just got promoted at work and recently my boss is trying to push me for another one. I'm refusing the promotion because I really don't think i can do it. Even with my recent new role at work I often feel like I am just pretending to be good at it but in reality I suck at my job.
I think learning some logic and composition can help you. You know, I can relate, I have this imposter feeling all the time. I don't think I'm a completionist, but most of the time I feel like I'm going for the low-hanging fruits. I simply don't like most of my idea. But you can't come up with good ones everyday so it was one hell for me. Then I read a book that teaches how to write good sentences. It was curiosity, the book says good lines have models. It was more of how to think straight and how to actually value whether a statement has point in it or not. After that, I still can't have good ideas for everyday. But now I can tell my idea is good or bad, and go deep to make a good-enough one. This helped me a lot. I can now feel good with my work, because I like it by myself.
I need a cure for this. I just dropped two high school classes because i would feel unqualified and now i do nothing for three hours twice a week during my senior year of High School; I wondered why i felt like i had a hole in my reasoning for this whole time. My success feels uncertain at times.
I certainly have this. On the other hand, I did flunk out of college several times before getting my degree, and am stuck in a dead-end job because every potential employer I speak to turns me down. So maybe I'm just a realist. On the third hand, I have a diagnosed anxiety and depressive disorder, so maybe I'm just totally screwed up in the head. Or both.
I have never suffered from anxiety, and whenever I feel anxiety building, I basically just tell myself not to worry about it, and I stop feeling anxious. While this is really convenient, I think it also makes it hard for me to empathize with people that do suffer from anxiety.
I do notice in myself that I don't accept (as in ignore) positive feedback, but it's not because I don't feel I deserve it. I'm not unhappy with myself either. I just find negative feedback so much more useful. I know what I can do well, I need to know what I don't do well and how to improve on it.
3:40 - Modification of theory: Happens in families where parents set overly high expectations within the child (as opposed to set overly high expectations OF the child) through such phrases as "You can be anything you want to be" and suchlike. Much more realistic encouragements might cut down on a whole lot of psychological issues. Using myself for example - I have a (hidden) physical disability. I'm never going to be an astronaut, nor would I be accepted into any branch of the military. Yet my parents never wavered from expressing the "you can do anything" opinion (at least not until I was in my very late 30's). In fact there are still vestiges of that verbiage to this day. Looking back on my life, I am not advocating that you tell your kids they can't do something. But I wish my parents had had the presence of mind (and perhaps the advice of doctors, psychologists, etc) to tell me that I could "pursue any goals, yet some are going to require much more effort out of you". Meaning more effort to achieve the same goals than it would take others to achieve those same goals, but also meaning that it would take more effort from anyone to achieve those goals (something that even people without a disability need to be made aware of). As adults, we can see this truth. As kids, we aren't as insightful about the world and the ways it works. And while we can change, the road begins as children.
I am a male, and I DEFINITELY experience this quite deeply. It's like, though I've been recognized as an accomplished artist, I never FEEL like an artist, I feel like.. exactly the title.. an imposter. And though I cycle thousands of miles a year, I have a hard time calling myself a cyclist. I always feel like a phoney, and I absolutely reject praise and compliments. But this is the first time I've actually heard this described or discussed as an actual disorder.
I would love to see how this interacts with the fact that overall success is primarily due to factors outside your personal control (birth order, family education, opportunities, etc).
This is so me! In the past I used to put it down to simply a fear of failure, but have since realised that those other factors mentioned are crucial in the symptoms! Although I am dealing with it much better these days, there are still times when I interpret any achievement as fluky!
I feel like when I had it, it was from mixed messages and consistent criticism from my twin and myself. My brother and I always tried to tear each other down, and only recently did I start trying to distinguish when it’s okay to accept compliments and criticism and when it’s not. It was also probably coupled with no self esteem, like I always felt second to all, but I was able to turn around. Actually one of the characters I have for a book is going to be heavily affected by imposter syndrome.
I always have to get used to a new host. But I've gotten used to you and I have to say that you're doing a really good job! You have a nice, calm, friendly voice. You keep attention well and present the topic clearly. Keep it up, you're doing great! :D
I've done this before. I generally attribute my successes to my own strengths, but sometimes when it's easy for me due to my natural talents, I may feel that I don't deserve the success because I didn't work as hard as I might have for it. (That's preposterous, I wouldn't bother wasting my time working harder at skills I'm not nearly as good at.)
Yup is definitely a depression. This was really bad for me. After I got on my antidepressants (Zoloft) it literally disappeared. I think it stems from self worth and we all know depression doesn’t like you to have a good self worth.
This sounds a lot like attributional/explanatory styles. Bad things are caused by me being incompetent, good things are caused by chance or other external factors.
I am a PhD student and I feel that I actually do not deserve my position 1nd that I am the least competent PhD student in my lab. Although I was the first one who published a paper in her first year, I think that my paper is not good. My supervisor admires my paper that was published in a highly ranked journal but I am ashamed to show it to other scientists because I think that they would think that my work is mediocre. I believe that I am going to make fun of my self the day of my thesis defense. I even hope to make it closed. I also think that I have no competences what so ever to find a job after my graduation unless I lie about my profil. I used to think that what I am feeling is normal and real and that I am really that bad until discovering the imposter syndrome Today!! And I think I have it PS: I've already been diagnosed with BPD
I don't have this, but I do have something similar. I force myself to not accept any compliments from myself, because I know that I have a history of letting it get to my head very easily.
I felt like this when I first came to college. I went to public high school and missed at least half of it due to personal issues. I took a year out after finishing and then realised I wanted to go to college, so I went back to high school for a year. I live in Ireland and school system is different, there's no continuous assessment, just an exam for every subject at the end of the year. Basically worked my balls off all year and ended up getting into the top university in this country, but also got a disability compensation to get there, so felt like there was an astrix to it. So pretty soon after starting I felt like shit because I was surrounded by people who had gone to private school/boarding schools or were consistently a good student in their public school. I wondered how I'd possibly survive, with less former education than everyone else, on top of not doing as well as them in high school exams to get in here due to the disability compensation. I'm in 3rd year now, I don't think of this as much but when I do it still can get me down, but recognizing it as imposter syndrome certainly did help as I could look at my mind more analytically for how it is making me think and try to neutralise my negative thoughts by reminding myself I survived this far, I've passed exams before and haven't had to repeat, I just need to work hard etc. It was obviously most difficult to neutralise these thoughts when I first started college and hadn't done any college exams or assessments yet to really know if I was capable, but I got through it somehow, mostly by working a lot.
I was told I had this by my counselor when I was in college. I feel very awkward when I'm told that I've done a good job, and then afterwards feel guilty and feel like maybe they were just trying to be nice and, hence, that should try harder next time. I feel like once I reach a certain level of success, then I will accept that I'm good at whatever. But I feel like what's probably going to happen is that every time I reach another level of promotion or raise, I'm going to keep feeling this way and think, "this NEXT time I won't feel that way." But granted, I just barely graduated college. So maybe (hopefully) that won't be the case.
![Autism Rates Are NOT Exploding but Anti Intellectualism IS! [feat. The Telepathy Tapes]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RU7fIqhwb38/mqdefault.jpg)
I was about to comment "this is so relatable but I don't do anything successful" and now use if that's irony or genuine
same
I am kinda same but I had some success that was quite noticable in past and I still felt like I am not worth it ; that I was just lucky; that someone just have to be top x% in some activity because that's just part of statistics. I feel disconnected when I do something good. But when I do something poorly it affects me a lot. I feel really stupid and insignificant .
Yeah, that's because there's probably another type of syndrome under this Imposter syndrome.
Yes! Even though I acknowledge this is a real thing, I still feel in my heart I only got into grad school bc I got lucky with nice interviewers
matrixfull - You are NOT insignificant! Your comment provided me another connection that tells me I am not alone in this, and that there are ways I can improve. Thank you!
I always want to hear praise, but then when I'm praised I don't feel like I deserve it, or that they don't really mean it
Exactly me
@@Vhykieoffiong me to
I half way do and don't. I need proof b4 ppl wanna boost my head up. But when I get it, I'm quiet about sh. Bc whether ppl directly hear sh from the source or through the grapevine I know that naturally here comes the h8. And for no damn reason. Im not a any attention is good attention type, or a ppl pleaser, I just dont like to feel vulnerable... yo, I can't help youre a hater tho. But hating me is not gonna change anything
It's the imposter!
I don't believe I deserve SciShow Psych.
New Message... me too, I should unsub rn.....but I'll do it tomorrow, probably
We are not worthyyyyyyyyy
My Impostor Syndrome is not good enough to be in the DSM. Figures.
I want to reply on your comment, but I don't believe it will be good enough :(
Thank goodness I am freakin perfect!
Or am i? I better go ask...
I think it's very telling that people don't feel they deserve praise because they "only worked harder," suggesting that we treat natural ability as more praise-worthy than hard work. This makes sense, because when we're children, we've all been told one thing and shown another -- we're told in a general sense that "working hard" is good, but we're repeatedly shown that praise only comes to those who succeed without effort.
I learned something very interesting in a discussion with my friend of Asian descent who is about to become a doctor. Her Asian friends attributed her success to "studying hard," whereas my comment was that she was "smart." I automatically assumed that she was far brighter than most people, but in her culture it was assumed that she was a normal person who worked hard. I thought this was very telling.
Perhaps, although I think in some circles calling someone smart is more broad than that. At least in my friend groups calling someone smart implies aptitude but also implies having done the work to learn things, since the aptitude is only potential.
Shawn Ravenfire. Yes! Unfortunately it took me until my sophomore year in college to realize this (obvious affected my self-esteem). You are totally right!
Patience and persistence causes success. 'Natural ability' is simply a natural liking of a subject causing patience and persistence to come naturally, but it all came from the same thing.
It is the fear of being called weird or a nerd that discourages such persistence naturally. Those who became a success without education is not proof that education is useless, but proof that success depends on an individuals patience and persistence first and foremost, so the obstacles of learning what was needed to be learned were not a problem to overcome.
It is actually the anti-intellectual turn of society which is doing people an injustice. If people were not afraid to be interested in education, it would breed success naturally. This is why a lot of people were only able to find success after removing themselves from the social stigma which prevented it.
People being afraid to be knowledgeable on subjects out of fear of alienating others, or out of fear of sounding like they are talking down to them. Other people being afraid to be knowledgeable on subjects out of fear of being singled out for being exceptional, and bullied physically for it.
This encourages people to define themselves as being below average, as they deem it as more socially acceptable and likable, and this definition of themselves causes them to undervalue everything they do the rest of their lives.
Yeah. That’s why royalty’s in your blood not your work ethic. Shame.
You should do an episode on "The Dunning-Kruger effect" which is basically the opposite of the impostor syndrome. This is where low-ability individuals believe that they are academically and intellectually superior than they actually are.
You could call this arrogance.
It could still make for a very interesting episode
Coonotafoo I''ll let my boss know she is needed as a perfect example for SciShow that episode.
Tbh I probably think I’m better than I am so I relate a lot to the people that are affected with the dunning krüger effect! I mean I am pretty dumb and ugly but probably think I’m so awesome and smart and handsome but whatever! I bet you think “ Wow wut a prime example for the imposter effect!” But I’m probably lying about how bad I think I am because of how dumb I am! So yea that was that!
I like her style of explaining. The gestures and expressions! keep it up :)
what? she is a copycat of that guy with glasses LOL same intonation and gestures
Yes Hank ;) and i like his style too. They are the same team he is on SciShow and this is SciShow Psych. So i wouldn't consider it copying. Its more of their team's style :) And not everyone can do it so naturally.
So why do people complain when Olivia does the same thing?
Every psyche I've ever met talks is extremely expressive and uses gestured a lot, I wonder if it's something they teach at Uni :P
dammit dan I agree that this presenter is easy to listen to.
So how do you know when you're actually right about sucking? lol
You can't because you suck at telling when you suck
Taber McFarlin lol
She was only speaking about actually successfull people.
***** so basically if you feel like you suck and you're not successful, you do suck
I think you can ask trustworthy people about how you're doing...
Wow, this is amazing, I always thought I was the only one who felt this way.
Chances are, if you think you're the only person to experience something, you're wrong.
I thought everyone felt this way...
Hello, Anne! You are not alone on this journey! :-)
Anne nope not alone this has been a big thing for my family to overcome we saw how we were treating each other could be planting the self doubt and it's been a hard road.
Nope. You arent the only one. I got a job in the july of last year. The interviewer was from the same college as i was. I later attributed my selection to this very fact. Needless to say I started having severe seld doubt and thinking I wasnt good enough. The stress was getting too much. I always used to feel like a fraud, as if I were there because of luck and not because of my caliber. I left it after 6 months. This video was truly comforting
thanks, I feel relieved by hearing this, people always tell me that I'm smart but I always feel like I am just an impostor
I wanted to learn but I'm so distracted by the t-shirt lol
It should have been either "Bark" or a picture of a cow ;)
It's really scary.
MEOWS!
that mewos
is so distracted
YoungTheFish someone save the kitty!
It's not the shirt. She's just too damn fine.
omg, thank you for this video! I always thought it was strange that I didn't like receiving praise. I do suffer from clinical anxiety and depression; whenever I get praised I feel awkward and get anxious
2010: Imposter Syndrome
2020: There are 3 **Impostors** *among us*
"you convince your self that your not really good at anything"
correct
"you convince your self that your not really good at anything"
At least they're good at one thing.
josh Subet Certainly not the best at spelling.
:P
Totino's Pizza Rolls ahem. Not spelling. *you’re hehe
I think my anxiety slows me down some. Over thinking sh I dont need to be thinking about, sometimrs
Oh my god I am really blown away. This describes exactly how I feel right now, and I didn't even know it was a known phenomenon.
i've felt like this many times before and even still do now. it's weird because i am aware of how smart i am at several stuffs and pretty confident about myself. but whenever i achieve something, i just feel like i get it because of luck, like i put no effort at all even though in reality i put some effort into it. it's like it's hard to acknowledge my own ability to achieve something i'm good at. praises make me feel good but a part of me feels like i don't deserve those praises so i always tell people i just got lucky
i can sympathize with you, i feel the same way. but i mostly wanted to comment on here bc nice ebichu icon bro
I can relate to this
It's too real.
TOO REAL.
This is actually really informative. This is basically my entire academic life...
This affects me and it impacts my confidence and self belif. At least now I know what it is called.
Belief*
Too be exact.
lol
*To
Holy crap! How long has this channel been around! It's awesome! Why did I only find this today? Love it even more than SciShow!
This was one of the big reasons I dropped out of college. I recognized what was going on too, but the feeling was just too strong, combined with other equally self-destructive disorders
Yup, this describes me perfectly. Especially the endless loop of anxiety, procrastination, finishing the task in very little time, feeling proud for a little bit, then suddenly hating everything you've done and not being able to see your own accomplishments. I don't know how to fix it, I just look at myself and my life so far and I think: "Man, I did NOTHING worthwile and I have ZERO skills", although there is evidence to the contrary and even though I was always supported and appreciated by my family, friends and partner.
When the imposter is sus!
I grew up in a family with mixed messages. sometimes they would call me narcissistic or crazy and sometimes they would act like I was the best thing in the world.
I have a *getting distracted by t-shirt labels* syndrome.
First video I've watched on SciShow Psyche, and I'm already impressed with Brit and her performance as a presenter. Great job!
I feel as though this ties into the Dunning-Kruger effect. High skilled individuals tend to underestimate their abilities and low skilled individuals tend to overestimate their abilities. Seems very common that those with talent and skill might feel as though they're lacking both.
People just think I’m being overly humble when I have a hard time accepting compliments and praises. I am humble, I just don’t think I preform as well as everyone around me makes it seem. I honestly hate this about myself because it makes me downplay/grade myself a lot, and it gives me a slight tendency to self sabotage a lot of opportunities and stuff. Even though I’ve been aware that my self judgement is unhealthy for a while now, I haven’t been able to over come it. It’s like I realize that I’m talented and smart and I’m a hard and diligent worker but I tend to quickly lose sight of that and this back and forth continues where I’m below par and then I realize my true worth and then it disappears all over again. I don’t know. Maybe I’m crazy.
I absolutely love this channel though. The human mind is absolutely astonishing and complex, and I love the way you guys break everything down so a child could understand it. You guys helped me decide on being a psych major! Thank you so much! I can’t wait until I’m able to be a member of your patreon
This didn't explain why my dad dresses like anthropomorphic creatures and goes to cons
Nova Fusion yeah they wouldn't explain to me why my son had a fecal obsession and likes to collect poop of different animals and harden it and place it into display cases.
is he a brony?
Nova Fusion Maybe he's having a good time.. ever thought of that? :3
(and yes I know the op likely isn't serious)
This doesn't explain why I have hair around my anus.
This doesn't explain why men have nipples...
i love this presenter! she's clear and a great communicator
Yeah... I'm having frequent such episodes, including recently...
But for me personally at least, I know the cause - I am generally brutally honest with people, nitpicking on as they would let me before they explicitly ask me to stop (yeah, I don't get "hints"...). And I expect brutal honesty in return. Regardless of whether something is good/bad, I want to know what about it specifically is good/bad.
The problem is I'm ALSO aware that most people are not brutally honest with me. The people who value me are too appreciative to even attempt noticing flaws or just say "it's awesome" without being able to pinpoint why (I want a comparison against a bad thing that I could've done, but didn't, damn it!). People who don't know me too well, or don't know what I do too well prefer to abstain from an opinion and/or give a superficial "it's fine" that is not helpful at all (because it doesn't let me reflect on the choices I made to get here...). I tend to get the most honest feedback from strangers, but as I react to address valid criticisms, the same strangers jump into one of the other two types of people.
boenrobot I relate to this so much. I'm glad to know that there's someone else out there who operates this way.
Same here. That is one of the big reason I can't manage in any job. I can do the work but my honesty isn't thing coffee room politics like and even after when I say people tell me when to stop/what I'm doing wrong.. They still just don't say and complain to somewhere else and/or start bullying me. So I end up being extremely critical about everything I do - cause everything might be wrong.
This is definitely me. Example: I go to an interview, am told that they love how thorough I am, that I knew the right questions to ask etc... In my mind I am thinking "I'm not thorough I only knew to do all of that because I read books on it, watched videos and talked to people beforehand.." Then I sit back for a minute and realize like "oh.. wait.. that is kind of thorough." but still I don't feel like the praise is deserved, like as if what I presented to them was just an act and not the real me. I've slowly grown out of this though over the last couple years as I''ve asserted to myself that my accomplishments are my own.
Is it weird to still love your teddy bear when you're old? I still talk to it and tell it my feelings.
Given that some psychologists actually hand out teddy bears for people to vent their feelings to; no not at all. Just make sure you're not replacing actual human contact with talking to your bear. But venting, even to a stuffed animal or other inanimate object, can relieve a lot of stress and if it works for you; why fix it? You do you Ines, don't let society pressure you into feeling weird ;D
I suppose it depends on what you call old. Even if you are actually old, and assuming you don't do it in public then I think it's safe to say that you are among about 7 billion people that do at least one weird thing in private.
Many people grow out of teddy bears and move into the realm of cats, bot chats, or 2D characters called "waifu."
Just kidding. I still have my 20 year old stuffed dog. And I'm awful at keeping things. The best people are weirdos.
You can either do it privately, or if interesting enough, start videos. I'm sure ventriloquism had to start somehow. That or maybe as a type of prank...
Just think of it as Rubber duck debugging (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging) with your feelings.
I still own most of my stuffed toys from childhood and I still love them dearly. Those kind of things are great outlets for your innermost feelings. This is a way of self-care and not unhealthy or weird at all. My partner and I both can sometimes process our feelings better by acting them out with stuffed animals, like getting the other's favorite toy and comforting them with it.
i'm like that all the time, about everything. despite everyone around me telling me that i'm above average, i just don't "want" to accept it. it's impacting my life severely
I'm a man and I just screwed up this last semester because of this. I had so many anxiety attacks over the last few months. It totally affects BOTH genders.
Sven Servette *ALL genders. Besides that, I totally agree.
Sven Servette apache attack helicopter here,it also affects us....you have to be carful how you speak on the internet. everything is a gender and tacos sexually identify as pizza now.
+Nobodyof Sora *All people. The "more then two" gender argument isn't going to win any time soon. Until then you're just being divisive.
+Noboduof Sora - According to the majority of biologists and psychologists, there are two genders. Only gender studies professors a a small number of ideologues in biology and psychology think otherwise.
You do realise that only like half way through the video she states "Since this was tested on women you would assume it only effects them, but studies show that it effects men and women as well as all ethnicity's". Can you actually just watch the video before you post BUT MEN please, bloody hell.
I love Brit, our new host! Passionate, articulate, with really helpful gestures too :D
It slightly bothers me that there's a misspelling at 2:35 -- statement 4 -- "ofme"
She does narration very well and has clear pronunciation without any of the highly annoying inflections and vocal effects which are all too common nowadays, just normal, clear speach. All of this makes it easier taking in the information.
I *really* appreciate how they say "all genders" instead of "both" ❤️
This is the definition of me. I give myself impossible tasks and very little time to accomplish them. When something goes wrong, I feel guilty of causing that and remember it for days, even if it was just a small mistake. When these errors pile up, I have less and less self-confidence in accomplishing the task. After a very short streak of forecasting success, I begin to procrastinate. Eventually, I am way past the deadline and have no motivation to continue. I am noticing that I am doing the same with schoolwork. Sometimes, I try to promise myself to add something awesome to a lame project, like presenting a short animated video to explain what my essay is about. I spend all my time learning to craft the perfect animation until I realize that I wasn't paying utmost attention to the videos. Before I know it, I wasted all my time trying to learn a new skill. Then I spend the rest of my time writing an essay. It is a perfect essay, but I do not feel great about my work. Although I am happy that I finally got the project off my shoulders, I am not satisfied with the fact that I did not do something extra.
At least you were able to evaluate the situation and know to cut off a loss before it ate too much into your essay time. If it were me, I'd blow through until the last moment, and end up with a bs essay (like restating the same sentence and messing with margins terrible) ;o; I'm terrible at judging stuff for deadlines.
Really though, if you wanted a super good animation (even for a five second short), it might have taken several months to learn to use the program*s*, design concepts, animation tips/effects for the polish, drawing? (Oh man, that adds a lot of time for each frame... 12 frames/second * 5+ secs...), audio mixing???, and putting it all together. Better to outsource to fiverr or something, haha.
Not saying it was a bad idea. Just that you were RIGHT to try not to tackle multiple new crafts within your deadline & under pressure! Great though, if you want to try at your own time for your own pace!
I really want to support you on patreon but I'm a broke college student. Love your work though ❤👏
I'm really really thankful for this video. It came on the right time, and the explanation is really great. Keep forth
I like your shirt 👌
Wait...
Is that my cousin?!?!
EdgeofDeception why?
I DONT REALLY CARE IF YOU CRYYYY!!!
Luis Gutiérrez ON THE REAL YOU SHOULD'VE NEVER LIED
Holy shit, I've always thought that I've been unconciously manipulating people into thinking I was better than I am, but now that I watch this I realize how crazy that sounds. Thank you, Sci Show!
a m o g u s
Wow. This video just explained my entire college experience so far, in great detail. That's both helpful and incredibly unnerving.
What if you know you suck or messed up in an interview??
Doubt is not always a bad thing in my opinion
Well, when you really know you fucked up then you probably fucked up for real. :)
There's healthy doubt and unhealthy doubt
If we confidently own our own experiences and tune into our personal strengths, we can combat imposter syndrome and begin to understand just how exceptional we are. So much emphasis is on professional and learned skills, rather than lived and personal experience. Focusing on your lived and personal experience and how that makes your perspective and contribution unique can be a fabulous way to start the process of combatting imposter syndrome. This is a fabulous explanation...loved it!
Ngl red kinda sus
People who grew up in a household that valued negative feedback over positive feedback would likely be a huge contributing factor. It leaves people only noticing failures, and successes as simply dodging a bullet instead of seeing it for what it is.
Amogus
I'm a first year in my grad program and this is my feeling exactly coming into class everyday. I hope that one day I can feel like I deserve this opportunity and it was all my hard work that got me in. The struggle is too reallll
how are you doing now?
OMG story of my life
I take her home
+200odd300. . .
I drive all night to keep her warm and time
i have a friend who is a total nerd, she keeps complaining how bad her preparation is but in the end always get highest scores. thanks to you now i know the name of her condition
I dunno this video is kinda sus
I never realize that when I get into something, I get obsessively into it (like dead fish eye tired but still working away). At first I thought it was normal to work super hard, so that whenever someone complimented my work, I thought they were just being nice. It never felt like real compliments, so many awkward silence moments. Then I saw how other people worked effortlessly, and a friend even criticized my work habits. Now I get some bad mental blocks between weird feels of if I'm working too hard, or if I should be able to somehow work efficiently.
Why are we morbidly curious. And yes, i know vsauce have done it! I don't care!
I definitely do this. I was a great student in high school while being an athlete and performing, got into the #6 chemical engineering program in the country and failed a class for the first time ever. Even before I started I said I wasn't smart enough and only got into the program for being a well rounded woman pursuing engineering and after I failed one class I thought that confirmed it. Even when people emphasize how nearly impossible it is to get where I am, I feel like a sham. I know to a degree that I'm smart, but I often get overwhelmed feeling like I've faked my way through life and that everyone who gave me opportunities did it by mistake and not because I deserve it.
So is Jaidenanimations suffering from this?
3:08 Can we just take a moment to appreciate the hard work those brackets did just to trip out anyone looking at the center of the screen? You da' man, brackets!
AMONG US!!!111111!!!!
I do this. I also sometimes worry I'm mentally handicapped and everyone pretends I'm not to improve my quality of life.
Cool another name for my short comings, now I dont need to take responsibility for jack shit!
I am extremely self-critical, find positive motivation patronizing, and set really high goals (not impossible goals, but maybe improbable goals given my current life situation), but I don't think I've ever doubted myself to where I start thinking I shouldn't be where I currently am.
I don't deserve likes on this
In fact, i've just put a dislike.
Dr.StickFigure Then maybe you deserve some comments?
KangaroosInAntarctica maybe not :(
Dr.StickFigure You do deserve comments since you are ready to take criticisms.
I have been seeing therapists and psychologists since I was a teen, describing these exact feelings. Especially the anxiety , procrastination and feelings of undeserved praise in my academic career , which is why I have not gone on to grad school. I often feel like professors gave me the wrong grade. or they feel sorry for me. I have been told I suffer from generalized anxiety disorder and depression. I have never heard of this term before but I definitely think I need to bring it up next week.
A. Krishna Isley
You should try meditation.
When you practice to become aware of your mind, that might help you to wake up out of unpleasant thoughts and break the cycle of confusion and suffering.
All genders . All two of them. I know it's to keep everyone happy but I found it funny
Ahh yes, the two genders. Wifes and werewolves.
gender is a social construct/mental disorder
sex is male or female
know your shit please
Gender =/= Sex. Go on. Lose your shit.
Additionally, sex isn't male or female either. Intersex people (and a host of others that do not clearly fit into a clean male/female dichotomy) exist. And gender isn't a mental disorder.
tfw you think you can make a sex = gender thing but don't even realize there's not only 2 sexes either.
Awwwww, I want to give all people with Impostor Syndrome a huge hug. It must be awful to feel that way.
Could you maybe do a video on the psychology of music? Like why music makes us emotional, why it enhances or detracts from stories, the chills you get when you hear good music, etc.
I’m currently suffering from heightened anxiety and semi depression. I feel like a underachiever at work and everyone is smarter faster and better than me. So I constantly compensate by working until I drop dead. I have stopped breakfast and lunch. It is horrible and I don’t know how to let this feeling go.
I honestly just assumed everyone felt this way whenever they did attempted to do/did something. I was unaware that this was not a general way to react to situations. This explains so much about the way people react to my immediate self doubt on projects or tasks.
Maggie May
I feel great even about minor accomplishments, but I don't "own" them.
I think everyone has access to a state of mind, which allows pleasure from success, but avoids states of confusion like pride and shame.
This is what I am going through right now. 4 months ago I just got promoted at work and recently my boss is trying to push me for another one. I'm refusing the promotion because I really don't think i can do it. Even with my recent new role at work I often feel like I am just pretending to be good at it but in reality I suck at my job.
I think learning some logic and composition can help you. You know, I can relate, I have this imposter feeling all the time. I don't think I'm a completionist, but most of the time I feel like I'm going for the low-hanging fruits. I simply don't like most of my idea. But you can't come up with good ones everyday so it was one hell for me.
Then I read a book that teaches how to write good sentences. It was curiosity, the book says good lines have models. It was more of how to think straight and how to actually value whether a statement has point in it or not. After that, I still can't have good ideas for everyday. But now I can tell my idea is good or bad, and go deep to make a good-enough one. This helped me a lot. I can now feel good with my work, because I like it by myself.
I need a cure for this. I just dropped two high school classes because i would feel unqualified and now i do nothing for three hours twice a week during my senior year of High School; I wondered why i felt like i had a hole in my reasoning for this whole time. My success feels uncertain at times.
I certainly have this. On the other hand, I did flunk out of college several times before getting my degree, and am stuck in a dead-end job because every potential employer I speak to turns me down. So maybe I'm just a realist. On the third hand, I have a diagnosed anxiety and depressive disorder, so maybe I'm just totally screwed up in the head. Or both.
A friend of mine recently said she had this but I was so surprised that I now can't remember which friend it was.
I have never suffered from anxiety, and whenever I feel anxiety building, I basically just tell myself not to worry about it, and I stop feeling anxious. While this is really convenient, I think it also makes it hard for me to empathize with people that do suffer from anxiety.
I do notice in myself that I don't accept (as in ignore) positive feedback, but it's not because I don't feel I deserve it. I'm not unhappy with myself either. I just find negative feedback so much more useful. I know what I can do well, I need to know what I don't do well and how to improve on it.
3:40 - Modification of theory: Happens in families where parents set overly high expectations within the child (as opposed to set overly high expectations OF the child) through such phrases as "You can be anything you want to be" and suchlike. Much more realistic encouragements might cut down on a whole lot of psychological issues.
Using myself for example - I have a (hidden) physical disability. I'm never going to be an astronaut, nor would I be accepted into any branch of the military. Yet my parents never wavered from expressing the "you can do anything" opinion (at least not until I was in my very late 30's). In fact there are still vestiges of that verbiage to this day.
Looking back on my life, I am not advocating that you tell your kids they can't do something. But I wish my parents had had the presence of mind (and perhaps the advice of doctors, psychologists, etc) to tell me that I could "pursue any goals, yet some are going to require much more effort out of you".
Meaning more effort to achieve the same goals than it would take others to achieve those same goals, but also meaning that it would take more effort from anyone to achieve those goals (something that even people without a disability need to be made aware of). As adults, we can see this truth. As kids, we aren't as insightful about the world and the ways it works. And while we can change, the road begins as children.
I am a male, and I DEFINITELY experience this quite deeply. It's like, though I've been recognized as an accomplished artist, I never FEEL like an artist, I feel like.. exactly the title.. an imposter. And though I cycle thousands of miles a year, I have a hard time calling myself a cyclist. I always feel like a phoney, and I absolutely reject praise and compliments.
But this is the first time I've actually heard this described or discussed as an actual disorder.
Not only great information, but equally great presentation.
I would love to see how this interacts with the fact that overall success is primarily due to factors outside your personal control (birth order, family education, opportunities, etc).
This is so me!
In the past I used to put it down to simply a fear of failure, but have since realised that those other factors mentioned are crucial in the symptoms! Although I am dealing with it much better these days, there are still times when I interpret any achievement as fluky!
I feel like when I had it, it was from mixed messages and consistent criticism from my twin and myself. My brother and I always tried to tear each other down, and only recently did I start trying to distinguish when it’s okay to accept compliments and criticism and when it’s not. It was also probably coupled with no self esteem, like I always felt second to all, but I was able to turn around. Actually one of the characters I have for a book is going to be heavily affected by imposter syndrome.
I always have to get used to a new host.
But I've gotten used to you and I have to say that you're doing a really good job! You have a nice, calm, friendly voice. You keep attention well and present the topic clearly. Keep it up, you're doing great! :D
it is wrenching to think that 'accepting a compliment' could be all someone needs to receive a serotonin influx and balancing
Dude. I love her voice. It's so nice and smooth. Please make more vids with her!
Wow, finally someone I can watch on the SciShow team almost as much as Hank... or Michael...
I've done this before. I generally attribute my successes to my own strengths, but sometimes when it's easy for me due to my natural talents, I may feel that I don't deserve the success because I didn't work as hard as I might have for it. (That's preposterous, I wouldn't bother wasting my time working harder at skills I'm not nearly as good at.)
Yup is definitely a depression. This was really bad for me. After I got on my antidepressants (Zoloft) it literally disappeared. I think it stems from self worth and we all know depression doesn’t like you to have a good self worth.
so glad u chose to do this channel
I'm going to just favorite this video and make myself re-watch it a bunch as I near graduating college... Thanks for all that you do!
This sounds a lot like attributional/explanatory styles. Bad things are caused by me being incompetent, good things are caused by chance or other external factors.
This is incredibly relevant to programmers. Many programmers and people in computer science have this.
Thanks SciShow Psych, I needed that.
I really feel like I have this, and now I know how to explain some of my problems to my counsellor, so thank you so much.
I am a PhD student and I feel that I actually do not deserve my position 1nd that I am the least competent PhD student in my lab. Although I was the first one who published a paper in her first year, I think that my paper is not good. My supervisor admires my paper that was published in a highly ranked journal but I am ashamed to show it to other scientists because I think that they would think that my work is mediocre. I believe that I am going to make fun of my self the day of my thesis defense. I even hope to make it closed. I also think that I have no competences what so ever to find a job after my graduation unless I lie about my profil. I used to think that what I am feeling is normal and real and that I am really that bad until discovering the imposter syndrome Today!! And I think I have it
PS: I've already been diagnosed with BPD
I don't have this, but I do have something similar. I force myself to not accept any compliments from myself, because I know that I have a history of letting it get to my head very easily.
I feel like I didnt work hard enough for my weight loss and muscle gain, I feel like I dont deserve it and didnt work hard enough for it.
I felt like this when I first came to college. I went to public high school and missed at least half of it due to personal issues. I took a year out after finishing and then realised I wanted to go to college, so I went back to high school for a year. I live in Ireland and school system is different, there's no continuous assessment, just an exam for every subject at the end of the year. Basically worked my balls off all year and ended up getting into the top university in this country, but also got a disability compensation to get there, so felt like there was an astrix to it. So pretty soon after starting I felt like shit because I was surrounded by people who had gone to private school/boarding schools or were consistently a good student in their public school. I wondered how I'd possibly survive, with less former education than everyone else, on top of not doing as well as them in high school exams to get in here due to the disability compensation. I'm in 3rd year now, I don't think of this as much but when I do it still can get me down, but recognizing it as imposter syndrome certainly did help as I could look at my mind more analytically for how it is making me think and try to neutralise my negative thoughts by reminding myself I survived this far, I've passed exams before and haven't had to repeat, I just need to work hard etc. It was obviously most difficult to neutralise these thoughts when I first started college and hadn't done any college exams or assessments yet to really know if I was capable, but I got through it somehow, mostly by working a lot.
I was told I had this by my counselor when I was in college. I feel very awkward when I'm told that I've done a good job, and then afterwards feel guilty and feel like maybe they were just trying to be nice and, hence, that should try harder next time.
I feel like once I reach a certain level of success, then I will accept that I'm good at whatever. But I feel like what's probably going to happen is that every time I reach another level of promotion or raise, I'm going to keep feeling this way and think, "this NEXT time I won't feel that way." But granted, I just barely graduated college. So maybe (hopefully) that won't be the case.
Oh no. I just had this last night. Because I procrastinate a lot. I can believe hearing this explanation made me cry a bit.