Understanding Imposter Syndrome As A Trauma Response

Did you know early childhood experiences can heavily influence your ability to reach your full potential?

?? Learn how your own adverse childhood experiences may be affecting you today.

?? Parents who were overly critical.

Children naturally have a belief that they can achieve anything as they don’t have a perception of fear or limitations until the people who are raising them impose their own fear based beliefs on to the child. As we age, yes we can have an understanding of an experience that could be harmful in our external environment but how does our inner world become corrupted with blocks and limitations?

?Over critical parents.

?Parents showing a lack of interest/enthusiasm in their child’s interests or small wins.

?Parents judging the child’s behaviour and progress negatively.

?Parents punishing a child for making mistakes.

?A lack of emotional support in the family.

?A child observing their parents criticising themselves or engaging in self-sabotage behaviour.

Children naturally place all of their trust into their parents/caregivers and children use their parents as a guide to how well they are progressing in life.

?? How does this affect an adult whose inner child experienced mental and emotional scars from their early childhood experiences?

??Overwhelming fear can present itself in the body when faced with an opportunity to advance in life. When this happens, an aspect of the suppressed inner child has been reawakened and a way of protecting this vulnerable part, the ability to consciously make decisions and excel is overidden by the protection and self preservation mechanisms.

These protector aspects of the self have one important role, to ensure the person doesn’t experience pain again. It does not understand you are now in a different timeline and are safe.

??An individuals mind can begin to overthink and second guess themselves when about to embark onto something new or simply advancing in life. This is in alignment with highly critical parents. Although this adult is in a different timeline, unresolved childhood trauma reactivates timelines from our past as an opportunity for us to work through them. You may experience conflicting thoughts in your mind which may lead to mental and emotional shut down.

The multiple voices are a reflection of our own parts that represent shame & fear.

People who experienced childhood trauma have 4?? core needs.

1?? The need to be able to predict their environment/lives.

2?? A need for certainty.

3?? A need to belong (attachment).

4?? A need to be authentic.

In order for them to be able to survive, coping mechanisms were developed.

These mechanisms allowed the child to adapt to their environments but the same adaptations become life long traits.

How to identify if you have coping mechanisms from childhood that are affecting you today:

?? You become overwhelmed with fear when faced with an opportunity to experience something knew. Consciously you understand this is good for you but emotionally you may feel something different. The need for certainty is more important than the need to evolve. This belief has the ability to keep you stuck where it feels safe and secure. An inner resistance may come alive offering your mind sound reasoning thoughts that you do not need this new opportunity etc.

?? You become hyper vigilant in new environments. The amygdala which is the part of our brain responsible for alerting us of danger can over-develop in children whose environments were unpredictable. As an adult, if you are scanning the room and making judgements of people you don’t know simply by their facial expressions or body language, you are not in a relaxed creative energy. You are in survival mode.

??People Pleasing: Individuals who people please learned as children how to adapt to their environments. This personality style comes at a heavy cost of suppressing oneself resulting in not truly understanding what your wants or needs are but always attending to others wants. When embodying a new career or role in your life, the people pleaser may choose this position from a desire to belong or what you may feel others would prefer for you rather than true authentic expression for the self.

??Within all of us is an authentic self who expresses without fear of judgement. Early life experiences either promote authenticity or suppress it. If you were shut down when you shared your big feelings or inner truths, you will have experienced also a closing down of emotions such as sadness and fear. These suppressed parts can and often overwhelm us when we are facing challenging situations or new opportunities. Negative belief systems attach themselves to these wounded parts resulting in self-sabotage behaviour, explosive anger or a fear of not being accepted if we are ourselves.

What is the solution for organisations to promote safety in the workplace when their employees are experiencing imposter syndrome?

If organisations created a culture of authentic expression without judgement, employees would feel safe enough to share their fears. If their work environment is judgemental and lacks emotional understanding, employees are experiencing all over again the same environment they learned how to survive from as children resulting in potential mental and emotional problems. A holistic approach to wellness in the workplace would allow Interpersonal relationships to grow stronger with employees and leaders learning to communicate on a level that goes beyond the current paradigm.

Can you identify how your early childhood experiences are blocking you from excelling in your life?

Thank You,

James.

#Impostersydrome #Leadership #Workplacewellness #Childhoodtrauma