96 OK! HEALTH IMPOSTER SYNDROME
EVEN THE STARS HAVE IMPOSTER SYNDROME, WITH ELLIE GOULDING AMONG THOSE FEELING THEY DON’T DESERVE THEIR SUCCESS
She may be basking in a postwedding glow, but singer Ellie Goulding has spoken about her battle with imposter syndrome. Though not an officially recognised medical condition, the anxiety-based problem makes us seriously doubt our own ability, and is said to affect 70 per cent of the UK. Writing on social media after World Mental Health Day, Ellie, 32, said: ‘I know I chose this job but nothing could have prepared me for the ups and downs that come with it. I know that a lot of my anxiety has come from what they call “imposter syndrome”, not believing in myself enough and thinking that I don’t deserve happiness, which sometimes results in sabotaging your own success.’
The Close To Me singer – who married art dealer Caspar Jopling in August – is not alone with such feelings, and Britain’s Got Talent star Alesha Dixon revealed earlier this year: ‘I’ve definitely been crippled by fear… inside, I always had a niggle in my brain, moments of self-doubt which made me question my abilities.’
Meanwhile, Michelle Obama, 55, has also said: ‘I still have a little imposter syndrome, it never goes away.’ And The Circle presenter Emma Willis, 43, recently said of her early career: ‘In the beginning, it did feel like a bit of a boys’ club, and I did feel a bit out of place. But back then I knew nothing about media or television. I thought I was an imposter.’
Here, OK! finds out more about this very modern malaise – and how best to tackle it…