Imposter syndrome is the anxiety provoking feeling that, despite our accomplishments and
success, we are unworthy and incompetent. Our external success is undermined by an internal anguish that we are fraudsters, getting by on luck and are, terrifyingly, perpetually on the cusp of being exposed.
As a psychological presentation it isn’t particular to ADHD and most people will have felt this way at some point in their lives. It becomes a particular problem for ADHD because some of our Executive Function struggles may appear to support this interpretation thanks to our tireless inner critic. The ADHD tendency to ruminate further builds our case against ourselves as we become increasingly anxious and convinced of our pending doom.
Imposter Syndrome is a self-fulfilling prophecy because the worse you feel about yourself the worse you will perform. Anxiety and stress take a terrible toll on sleep and when you add sleeplessness, your tiredness will further impact the Executive Functions that are required to guide you out of this negative space.
To overcome this hurdle, you need support that will help you to separate out the issues that are hampering your performance and deal with the way your ADHD is adding fuel to the fire. Understanding the way your ADHD presents will assist you to rethink the situation, predict and manage the misunderstandings you may have around your performance and reframe the way you perceive it.
Unbundling Executive Function challenges and putting processes in place to support the areas that leave you feeling vulnerable will reduce your anxiety and bolster your ability to stand up to your inner critic.
Coaching through each of these areas will assist you to stand tall and be proud of your achievements because you will know exactly what you did to perform so well.