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Everyone has
witnessed and -- regrettably -- experienced the wrath of at least one of those Oh-So-Very-Successful woman. She may have embarrassed a coworker in a meeting or perhaps shouted,
sneered and been rude in the open office. |
| It is common and
almost as important as the women whom it has overwhelmed to be categorized a syndrome and
given an official name. The "Impostor Syndrome" is what health professionals are
calling it. First identified in 1978, by psychology professor Pauline Clance and
psychologist Suzanne Imes, it manifests itself as a persistent belief in one's lack of
intelligence, competence, or skill. It is a feeling of intellectual fraudulence. The
person does not honestly believe that she deserves her -- or his -- success. She may even
feel that she has just been successful at fooling others into believing in her abilities. |
| Arla Lisa McMillan, a
psychotherapist practicing in Chicago, sees a steady flow of Impostor Syndrome clients and
says it is an exhausting way to live. She gave the following example. "Say you're a
successful banker and sitting with a client and they're asking you questions and you're
answering but you're thinking, 'There must be a better answer.' You're second-guessing
yourself, thinking any second you're going to be discovered. It's a precarious way to
live, to constantly be on guard." |
| Leslie Hartley Gise,
a psychiatrist and clinical professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of
Hawaii, identified what determines whether treatment is needed is the magnitude,
intensity, and if it interferes with our ability to complete daily tasks. She asked,
"Who among us hasn't doubted ourselves at some point? All of these things in a mild
form are part of a normal human experience. [But] if somebody is staying three extra hours
at work to prove they can make it, it would more likely be a disorder ... and something
they would want to address." |
| Chicago writer Jory
Des Jardins, a 32-year-old who lives in California, admits the syndrome first manifested
itself years ago. She had several articles printed in major publications, including The
New York Times. "When people got excited about my work, I'd think, `Oh, my God, I
can't believe you read that article. I can't believe you thought it was good." |
| Sometimes just the
fact that a woman has to carry around three names is enough to weigh too heavily upon her
feminine shoulders. |
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