Is ‘productivity dysmorphia’ stopping you from enjoying your successes?
You’ve probably heard of body dysmorphia. If not, it’s a condition in which people don’t see their own bodies accurately. Small flaws appear gigantic or the person in the mirror looks far larger than the one standing there in real life. The issue puts people at risk of obsession, depression and eating disorders.
In a fascinating recent piece for Refinery29, podcaster and author Anna Codrea-Rado revealed she’s a dysmorphia sufferer. But not in regards to her body. Instead, Codrea-Rado confessed to “productivity dysmorphia.”
Codrea-Rado’s post unleashed a flood of commentary online, and it grabbed my attention immediately, too. I immediately recognized an issue I had been thinking about for years, namely the painful gap that often opens up between people’s objective accomplishments and their sense of their own success. Her article is a powerful reminder that we may be the final judges of our own success, but we’re often pretty horrible at it. See if Codrea-Rado’s description of her issues sounds familiar to you as well:
“Whenever I am asked about my work, I dodge the question. Earlier this year, I published my first book and whenever someone remarks how proud I must be, a bubble of shame grows inside because, well, I’m just not. In an attempt to rid myself of that feeling, I do more. I work harder. I endeavor to be more productive.
“When I write down everything I’ve done since the beginning of the pandemic — pitched and published a book, launched a media awards, hosted two podcasts — I feel overwhelmed. The only thing more overwhelming is that I feel like I’ve done nothing at all.
“I have started thinking of this unhealthy relationship I have with my professional achievements as ‘productivity dysmorphia.’ ”
It’s a feeling like impostor syndrome but without the fear of being exposed — or akin to burnout, but it may or may not come after a period of particularly draining work.
In a follow-up piece for Insider, Codrea-Rado spoke with mental health professionals and workplace psychology experts to see if there was any way to fight back against her productivity dysmorphia.
Sure, they responded, but the best approach depends on the root cause of your particular case. Some of us suffer from productivity dysmorphia because of a deep-seated sense of inadequacy that can best be addressed in therapy. Others are impacted by horrible bosses or workplaces that don’t value and reward their contributions.
All of which suggests there is no simple recipe for fighting productivity dysmorphia. But what you can do as a first step is name the problem and remind yourself that you determine what success means.