Self-Esteem and Imposter Syndrome
Low self-esteem can impact every aspect of your life. It fuels self-doubt and ingrains the belief that you’re simply not good enough. Constant comparisons to others leads to harsh self-criticism, and often leaves you feeling worthless.
At Viable Mindset, our mission is to guide you towards lasting personal transformation. Together, we’ll embark on a journey to cultivate self-compassion, and foster a realistic appreciation of your qualities, abilities, and personality traits.
Some Signs of Low Self-Esteem:
- Saying negative things and criticizing yourself
- Joking about yourself in a negative way
- Focusing on perfectionism and therefore ignoring your achievements
- Blaming yourself when things go wrong
- Believing other people are better than you
- Not acknowledging positive qualities despite being told you possess them
- Being afraid of going after your dreams
- Being very upset by disapproval or criticism
- Expressing excessive negative emotions such as sadness, shame, anger
- Feeling anxious and/or worthless
Self-esteem is about creating a special relationship with yourself.
So How Can I Build My Self-Esteem?
So How Can I Build My Self-Esteem?
Step 1 : Receive Support from a Therapist
Carl Rogers, one the most famous psychologists of the last century, believed that if therapists accept and support the client unconditionally, clients will start perceiving themselves more favourably. In this tradition, we strive to create a truly non-judgemental space where you can explore your innermost fears and aspirations.
Step 2 : Appreciate Yourself
We will help you gain a realistic appreciation of yourself. You already have positive qualities, and you have been doing your best. But no matter what you do, you just cannot see yourself in a more positive light.
We will examine your beliefs and slowly replace them with a more realistic perception of yourself; perceptions grounded in reality and not distorted by negative beliefs.
Step 3 : Cultivate Self-Compassion
We will guide you in cultivating self-compassion. Kristin Neff, a pioneer in self-compassion research, wrote, “instead of mercilessly judging and criticising yourself for various inadequacies or shortcomings, self-compassion means you are kind and understanding when confronted with personal failings – after all, who ever said you were supposed to be perfect?”
We believe that without cultivating self-compassion, true self-esteem cannot be achieved. Self-compassion builds the most important relationship in your life—the relationship with yourself.
Effective
Solution Focused & Trauma Informed
Caring
Psychologists Who Care
Flexible
Evenings & Saturdays Availability
What is Imposter Syndrome?
Imposter syndrome is a common manifestation of low self-esteem. If you are having persistent doubts about your intelligence, skill, and abilities despite having accomplished a lot, you likely suffer from imposter syndrome. You might also have an ongoing fear that you will be “discovered” or “found out”.
But these feelings aren’t atypical: Many individuals in high functioning and high achieving careers experience imposter syndrome. Unfortunately, if left untreated, chronic feelings of imposter syndrome can increase the risk of depression, anxiety, and burnout.
Individuals experience imposter syndrome differently but common manifestations include:
- Attributing success to luck or other external factors
- Fear of failure and fear being “exposed”
- Fear of success as success may increase expectations
- Perfectionism
- Denial of competence
- Need to continually prove yourself to others
How Can Counselling Help to Deal with Imposter Syndrome?
At Viable Mindset, we will help you uncover what’s at the root of your sense of “not being good enough”. These insights will neutralise the negative self-beliefs that perpetuate your imposter syndrome.
By using Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), we will help you challenge automatic thoughts such as, “I’m a failure no matter what I do,” or “I don’t deserve my accomplishments.” Rather than allowing this negative self-talk to control your life, our psychologists will help you conquer your doubts and embrace your achievements.
Our Team
Stanislav Pak
Registered Psychologist
Yvonne Bachoura
Registered Psychologist
The Viable Mindset Promise
Our centre is focused on producing measurable results. Every third session we ask you to fill out a questionnaire. If the results indicate that you are not making progress in counselling, we will work to identify the obstacles and break through them together.
We also believe that building a healthy self-esteem is just half of the battle. The second half is helping you create the life that you always wanted, doing things that bring you genuine fulfillment and joy.
Don’t let low self-esteem and imposter syndrome hold you back any longer. Take the first step towards a brighter future. Contact us now to start your journey towards a happier, tranquil, more viable life.
Welcome to Viable Mindset Counselling
1167 Kensington Crescent Northwest Suite 316, Calgary, AB
Our clinic is located in the heart of Calgary, Alberta with a public parkade nearby as well as a wheelchair accessible entrance. We also work with people across the city, either in person or online, and can offer appointments in the evenings as well as on weekends.
Do you have questions? Get in touch!
We are happy to answer any questions you may have about our clinic or counselling & therapy services. We understand that starting counselling can be a large and emotional step. Feel free to fill in our contact form and we will get back to you as soon as possible.