FAKING
IT
BY Dr Adele Stevens
Chartered Clinical Psychologist.
Sitting opposite a good friend of many years and mother to a dribbly (but lovely) ten month old, I gradually realise we are having a conversation we have had many times before. Despite being a caring mother and a highly educated and accomplished woman – a Cambridge graduate with a successful business and previous careers in media and psychology - here we are again. Sitting on my sofa, drinking wine and talking about how despite appearances she really is not doing a good job at this mothering business and it is just a matter of time before her husband, mother-in-law and heaven forbid, the entire NCT WhatsApp group discover this. She seems particularly concerned about Rebecca, an apparently perfect mother and fellow frequenter of Monkey Music , who witnessed her feeding a non-organic snack to her bundle of joy last Tuesday. Now admittedly, my friend does have a tendency to lean towards the dramatic, some might even say borderline hysterical, after a few glasses of wine but she is describing a phenomenon widely experienced by many women - imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome was first described by psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in the 1970’s. Clance noticed that many of her high achieving and notably female students discounted their academic prowess and instead put this down to luck, circumstance and even administrative error of admissions staff. This persistent inability to internalise achievements lies at the heart of imposter syndrome. It seems that no amount of personal, professional or academic success can convince these self-perceived imposters of their own worth and ability.
Accolades are instead chalked up to temporary & external factors and these women are left feeling that they have so far had a lucky escape but it is only a matter of time before they are exposed as their true fraudulent and inadequate selves. High achieving females are the most likely group to experience imposter syndrome and as a result, much of the research has focused on how it manifests in
"It is only a matter of time before they are exposed as their true fraudulent and inadequate selves."