Imposter syndrome is a psychological pattern where people doubt their accomplishments and abilities, fearing they’ll be exposed as a fraud despite evidence of their success. It often involves persistent feelings of inadequacy and self-doubt, even when there are clear indicators of achievement.
This phenomenon can be triggered by new roles, transitions, or unfamiliar environments, and is commonly seen in people who hold themselves to high standards or have perfectionistic tendencies. For example, someone may feel like an imposter after being promoted at work, despite having the skills and experience necessary for the role. They might attribute their success to luck or external factors, rather than their own competence.
What contributes to feeling like an imposter?
When we feel like an imposter, it can be useful to first objectively reflect on whether or not we are being one in some way. We can ask ourselves, for instance, "am I being inauthentic in how I am presenting myself?" Or, "do I need to check the claims that I'm making in my business to make sure they are not false or over-exaggerating my skills?"
It’s similar to how we might approach other feelings like guilt, which sometimes lets us know we’ve done something wrong and might need to make amends; or anger, which can let us know we’re being disrespected or that something unfair is happening.
However, more often than not, our emotions have more to do with the past than the present. Some of us might know we’re actually good enough—perhaps others tell us that too—but we’re still being affected by criticism we've experienced in the past. It can be hard to shake those powerful, emotionally-charged thoughts of self-doubt. They can be distracting, like a bee buzzing around your head while doing your job, impacting your performance and well-being.
Using EFT to work with imposter syndrome
Somatic modalities like EFT can help diminish and release the emotional charge around “imposter syndrome” thoughts and memories so they don’t have such a hold on us anymore. We can do this by tapping on how we feel when we imagine the next time these thoughts are likely to come up or when we imagine being “found out as a fraud” by someone else. Eventually, we might also need to tap on memories that led us to believe we’re a fraud. These might include memories of receiving negative feedback from authority figures like parents, teachers, or bosses. The more we’re able to reduce the emotional charge around those thoughts, memories, and imagined scenarios, the less intrusive these “imposter syndrome” thoughts will become.
As an example, after I graduated as a psychologist, I struggled with the belief that “I’m good with theory (I was an excellent student) but not with practice.” I tapped on several memories that acted as evidence of this belief, including somewhat unrelated events, like the time I passed the driving theory exam but not the practical part. In addition to continued learning and gaining actual experience as a psychologist and EFT practitioner, EFT tapping played a big role in diminishing my sense of imposter syndrome.
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Bruno Sade is an Accredited Certified Advanced EFT Practitioner
Photo by Mahdis Mousavi on Unsplash
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