Mental Health: The Link Between Imposter Syndrome and Burning

Fiona, who has given anonymity to protect her professional reputation, has struggled with the deceptive syndrome of her life: the fear that she does not really deserve her success.

“Even though I’m in a position to play, I still do not believe in myself. It seems like others are doing it, but I do not think it’s fair,” he says.

Fiona feels “daily filtered out” by the constant questioning of herself, combined with the worries of infections and the stress of long-distance work.

Today, as she faces greater demand in her field, she has the intention of showing all the signs of burning.

She became emotional and began to “question the point of the job” and the value it would give “when others do the job better”.

Imposter Syndrome is a well-known problem among experts.

But Fiona is more interested in the link between Imposter Syndrome and other modern work disorders: burnout.

As the workplace goes through a period of rapid change, an understanding of how these two conditions feed into each other – and what can be done to prevent their lives from being disrupted – is essential for well-being and retaining employees.

Imposter Syndrome (IS) – also known as Imposter phenomenon – manifests differently in different individuals, but in general a person has an unshakable belief that it is an intellectual fraud, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

People with SI often think that they have to work harder on themselves and push themselves to the limit to avoid being unmasked.

Although they can be very successful, they can avoid taking on challenges so that they do not fail in public.

They fear that luck or hard work is the reason for their success rather than their ability, and this will give them more chances to stumble.

Studies show that up to 70% of people experience Imposter Syndrome at one time or another at work.

Although some research suggests that IS sometimes motivates people to succeed, there is ample evidence that the stress it creates can cause serious stress in mental health.

For example, in a 2016 study, American medical students tended to exhibit symptoms such as “increased burning, emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and impersonation” with delusional feelings, which are very close to the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of burns.

In a recent international study of 10,000 knowledge workers at Asana, a US-based job management site, 42% believed they had experienced both IS and burnout.

“When you see someone with Imposter Syndrome, they are more likely to be depressed, and those who are depressed are more likely to suffer from Imposter Syndrome,” said Dr. Zahar Youssef, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Haas School of Workplace Productivity. Business in UC Berkeley, California and participants in this study.

Importantly, according to Dr. Youssef, this survey relies on people estimating their own burns, which can take months to recover from a serious medical symptom.

But it is worth noting that some people may be quicker to label themselves as burned out than they are to be very tired and stressed, while many people have identified both symptoms.

It is not entirely scientifically clear why the two syndromes are increasingly intertwined, but one of the key factors is that SI manifests itself in similar ways. “Professional incompetence feeling” as defined by the WHO.

As Fiona points out, when someone experiences fatigue, Youssef says, “You feel that whatever you do is not enough. You are a useless person on your team.”

He says this is similar to the definition of Imposter syndrome.

The perfect tendencies of one with IS will make every interaction very stressful, he says.

Fatigue can set in after “hundreds, or thousands, of unfinished cycles of stress” where the person has no chance of recovering mentally from moments of stress.

Claire Zosa, founder of IS Consulting and editor of Dichthing Imposter Syndrome, says he sees a clear link between IS and burnout, saying that “the fighting mechanism is kicking, leaking or freezing the body”.

In his recent annual study of 2,000 workers in the UK and US, 62% described people struggling with Imposter Syndrome on a daily basis and 18% “kneeling” themselves due to stress.

Based on their answers to the continuous evaluation questions, 34% of the respondents considered themselves to be at risk of impending burns. “SI is the first to predict whether a person is at risk of burns,” he concluded.

Ms. Zosa thinks that this relationship is often driven by tactics to compensate or cover up their frustration, i.e. to avoid a promotion for fear of accepting or exposing a job for which they do not have time.

As one research participant said, “If I pay attention, it seems to me that everyone will see if I make a mistake. So I try my best not to go there.”

Someone who is “on the lookout for a threat” will quickly find that it affects their well-being and pushes them to the brink of extinction, says Claire Zosa.

Currently, according to Asana’s COO and Chief Business Officer Ann Raimondi, their research shows that General Z workers can say they are struggling with both Imposter Syndrome and Burnout.

He attributes this to the unique challenges young people face in starting their lives during epidemics.

Without clear boundaries between work and personal life, and without the “conceptual and reassuring moments” necessary to cultivate professional confidence, it is not possible to observe co-workers directly and adapt to the dynamics of the workplace.

He explains that it is easy to see how junior staff can begin to feel out of place in their role and become overwhelmed.

According to Ms. Zosa, as young workers talk more about their difficulties, older generations are also affected.

One of the main triggers of the traumatic syndrome he found was menopause in women or men promoted to higher positions.

Working mothers, meanwhile, are a high-risk group for IS and burns, he adds.

Numerous studies have shown that people from minority backgrounds are more likely to be affected.

Dr. of the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Kelly Cowcutt explains that Imposter Syndrome has long been considered a cause of burnout among medical professionals.

But his research suggests that the “lack of embedded bias and diversity” in the industry particularly affects under-represented groups and ethnic minorities.

For example, black physicians face the risk of burnout due to the stress of discrimination.

“If we are not good enough, not smart enough, or we are told we do not own it – or that we feel that way through subtle aggression – these external bias can be absorbed,” he explains. Cheating and, in the long run, burning.

“Although there have been many attempts to solve this problem, these dependencies still exist,” says Cowcutt, whose research calls for a “significant negative cycle” for the individual.

This, he says, shows the importance of IS and the burnout – as well as the deeper dependencies – not as isolated issues, but as related events, that need to be addressed together.

As far as the individual is concerned, Clare Jose explains that “overcoming the Imposter Syndrome is the starting point by modifying the brain’s response to stress to avoid triggering the faintness of the fight reaction, leakage and freezing.”

But he says companies need to do more to deal with the cults of “everything has become urgent” to solve the problem of IS’s cyclone, and people are being forced to act better. Well-being.

Youssef and Raymondy agree that workers need to be encouraged to set cognitive boundaries around their work so that they have time to mentally recharge after stress, thereby breaking the cycle of stress.

Youssef says young workers need help learning how to fit in with workplace mentors, which will help them avoid deceptive feelings early on.

“Prevention should be the key here,” he says. “Early in high school, I wanted to teach our children about what happens when you work hard.”

But for people like Fiona, solving the problem is easier said than done. Her doctor has advised her to rest for a while, but she is afraid that she will deceive her team or prove to herself and others that “I have been promoted above my standards”.

Instead, she struggles every day to “work through the molasses of work,” envying people who seem to get rid of it.

“Wouldn’t it be a good feeling to know that you don’t have to worry about going to work every day?