Two clinical psychologists, Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes, first identified and named a phenomenon back in 1978, ‘imposter syndrome.” This is the condition of feeling anxious and not experiencing success internally, despite being high-performing in external, objective ways. This condition often results in people feeling like “a fraud” or “a phony” and doubting their abilities.
I feel this in many areas of my life including with my chronic issues! It seems bazaar to feel it with a health issue, but it’s true. I often come across The Arthritis Foundation posts on LinkedIn and read the “Story Of Yes” features. The people sharing their RA stories are amazing. People developing apps, biking for miles, personal training just to name a few and all in spite of their Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis. I do believe that I’ve accomplished quite a bit while managing my RA and the myriad of issues that come along with it but I still sometimes wonder if it’s enough. Did I volunteer, write, and contribute enough to RA related foundations? Should I still be holding the JRA 5K race to raise funds for the Arthritis Foundation? Have I made enough awareness, have I supported the cause enough, am I doing enough to make my pain another’s gain?