Once I arrived here at Virginia Tech, I have been introduced to a new phrase that I wasn’t familiar with, the imposter syndrome, until I knew that it is the only description of what I have during the starting of the first semester in my Ph.D.’s studies. It is a term for anyone who feels that he/she is not good enough or can’t believe why they have been chosen for this position or the fear of being qualified to accomplish the tasks given, asking can I compete with all these equivalent colleagues, or if the committee did a mistake by choosing me.
All of these confusing feelings and questions had a huge effect on my mental stability, as it can cause people to doubt themselves and their ideas at school, work, or within the family. It can lead to avoiding talking with people or being intimidated by any meetings with the supervisor, or while doing a presentation. Therefore, challenges appear from feeling scared to get discovered or losing the position in the program. A definition I have found that can describe this phenomenon.
“Imposter Syndrome is the feeling that you haven’t earned your success, you simply got lucky, and you’re a fraud or “imposter” around people who actually earned it and know what they’re doing.”
I have been reading about this issue trying to find ways of what can we do if we have experienced Imposter Syndrome or doubts. The first this that "you are not alone" is the best thing that helped me to overcome it. As it is a well-known phenomenon and understood by advisors, committee members, and colleagues. Having a support group consist of families or friends that you trust and feel comfortable sharing with them is essential to remind ourselves of the hard work that has been put in to get into the program or the position at work. Also, in school, they have counselor offices that you can talk anonymously when help and support needed. And also, if this didn’t help to remove the feeling, I have found a way that was really effective to cope with all the doubts is to embrace it and say "so what!" if I am a fraud I will get better and find a way to grow and learn. When you hit a problem, you do not know how to solve it, understand that you could get the work done better and more quickly by asking for help or clarification. And if you still think that you don’t have the proper skills, practice and get better.
I still have some of this feeling when I have too many assignments or when I get feedback from my advisor on my writings or the flow of ideas, I get really overwhelmed and scared. However, I learned to talk to my family and let them remind me why I am here and why is this important. Doing that helped me to finish work confidently.