
Overthinking About Imposter Syndrome
Magical Overthinkers
Dealing with Imposter Syndrome Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
The chapter discusses strategies to address imposter syndrome through Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), emphasizing acceptance of difficult thoughts and feelings. Using the metaphor of a sushi train to explain handling thoughts, the episode highlights the importance of not attaching to negative thoughts but being curious about them. Personal experiences and societal influences on imposter syndrome, particularly for women and marginalized individuals, are shared to navigate feelings of inadequacy and insecurity.
In 1978, psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes published the first study on imposter syndrome—originally termed “imposter phenomenon”—about high-achieving women feeling like frauds at work… and it struck a major nerve. The study kicked off decades of frenzied discourse, programs, and merch aimed at curing women of this irrational feminine disease. Among the proposed treatments included professional development conferences, self-help books like The Imposter Cure, and power poses. Use of the term imposter syndrome has only increased, but I have questions. Like… why are these conversations so gendered? Does anyone NOT experience imposter syndrome? Is it really a diagnosable “syndrome” in the first place? And either way, how can we stop feeling this way? Psychiatrist and author of “Real Self Care” Dr. Pooja Lakshmin (@poojalakshmin) joins host Amanda (@amanda_montell) for this week’s brain-soothing discussion.
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- Sources:
Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome - bit.ly/3SZiBhb
Prevalence, Predictors, and Treatment of Impostor Syndrome - bit.ly/3ArrKbF
All Imposters Aren't Alike - bit.ly/4dSrz7H
A Cultural Impostor? Native American Experiences of Impostor Phenomenon in STEM - bit.ly/3SU95f9
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