What is Imposter Syndrome?

FAKE IT ’TIL YOU MAKE IT –

May 05, 2021 -When I tell people I have an anxiety disorder and ADHD, I still often wonder if they believe me. While society as a whole has taken some important first steps toward destigmatizing mental health disorders, a greater willingness to speak openly about neurodivergence has also opened the door for critics who speculate that these disorders are over-diagnosed or that some people are self-diagnosing as a way to pathologize normal feelings of insecurity, angst, or lack of focus. And some have been accused of falsely claiming anxiety or some other mood or behavioral disorder as an identity or for attention, minimizing the reality of the condition felt by those who really have it. When you’ve been successful in your career, for example, you may question whether your ADHD diagnosis is legit, “because other people discount it or they don’t see it,” IngerShaye Colzie, MSW, LCSW, a coach and counselor focused on ADHD, says. “They don’t know all the stuff you’re doing behind the scenes in your head, running around or working twice as hard.”

She continues, “There’s so much misinformation about ADHD that most of the time people don’t know what it is. And so even if they get diagnosed, sometimes you question it because you are able to do things some of the time.” So one day you may be able to function perfectly and the next you can’t get out of bed, which, Colzie says, can make you feel off-kilter. When you’ve been successful in your career, for example, you may question whether your ADHD diagnosis is legit, “because other people discount it or they don’t see it,” IngerShaye Colzie, MSW, LCSW, a coach and counselor focused on ADHD, says. “They don’t know all the stuff you’re doing behind the scenes in your head, running around or working twice as hard.”

“have i been diagnosed with anxiety for 9 years? yes. do i still think i’m faking it? yes.”