Impostor syndrome is something that anyone can experience. Whether it’s just occasionally or every day, it’s a feeling of self-doubt that can have serious effects on many aspects of your life.
Sure, doubting yourself can be normal and happens to everyone from time to time. However, when it’s a nagging feeling of being unqualified for something you worked hard at or feeling like everyone around you knows more, that’s when it can cause problems.
This constant uncertainty can be damaging for your mental health, causing all kinds of stress, anxiety, and depression. This is one of the biggest issues with impostor syndrome. Of course, it can also cost you big time financially. Being burnt out from overexertion at work can cause the average American worker $988. If the stress causes a lack of sleep, that can additionally cause you $2,569 per year.
Other issues stemming from impostor syndrome can be work-related conflicts, lost productivity, and it can even cause you to not ask for the pay you actually deserve because you feel like you haven’t earned it.
There are five main types of people who typically experience impostor syndrome. They all have the experience and knowledge in their field, but they either don’t feel like it’s enough or they feel like other people are better than them at it. If this sounds familiar to you, then you may be experiencing impostor syndrome.
Don’t stress too much! There are ways you can overcome this mindset to start owning your knowledge and stop losing money because of it!