imposter syndrome and how to deal with it

[Spacemen3]

I have recently taken quite a career stride upwards. Whilst I was fretting about my ability etc, a friend kindly pointed that I suffer from imposter syndrome. And having googled it, I think yes, yes I do! Probably my whole life, but amplified by my career which is technical/male dominated.

Having had the revelation, I can put it back in its box more easily/often now. But sometimes its really terrifying....

How do you over come it?

You might find this thread helpful.

Congratulations on your new job, by the way. The essential gist of the thread is that men get where they are partly because they are told they should be there and so feel comfortable and confident and partly because they fit and have connections. They are not necessarily any better than you. There are genuine barriers to success for women though - as women are often talked over, ignored, passed over for promotion etc. It's a rocky road, but you're in now and believing in yourself will help.

Thankyou calin that thread is exactly what I am looking for!

Its a confusing head place to be at I think

I heard about this a couple of years ago (Radio 4, possibly The Life Scientific) and thought - "Oh my God, that's me".

I got talking about it with our top, top boss, a very confident, capable and successful person, and he said that he feels exactly the same. I took a lot of comfort from that!

(Off to check out the other thread now )

Is this restricted to women? DH says he gets it a lot, especially when starting a new role at a level of seniority he hasn't had before. He does two days a week in NHS commissioning, and there are as many women as men at his level. He decided to grow a beard solely because he felt it gave him more gravitas.

I was wondering if there are similarities with class.

One thing I find with those of privileged backgrounds is their amazing capacity for self-belief and entitlement.

I think that might be a factor for DH. He went to a comprehensive where he was the only person to go to medical school in the history of the school. A lot of his colleagues are from independent school backgrounds.