Do You Suffer from Impostor Syndrome Anxiety?

Do you suffer from impostor syndrome anxiety? I would wager a guess that most artists do at one point or another. It’s that feeling of “who am I to be posting my work online, or show publicly?” It’s that feeling that sooner or later you’ll be outed for being a fraud. Sometimes it just sneaks up on you and other times it kind of lurks around in the back of your brain.

Impostor syndrome anxiety is common and not impossible to work around. (Photo Credit: 123RF.com Image ID: 74968536 Copyright: sushytska)

I had been drawing animal portraits for the better part of 30 years before I had the guts to post my work online when social media finally arrived. With that much experience, and hopefully without sounding conceited, I knew the work I did was better than most. However, when it came right down to it, my finger hovered over the mouse, afraid to click Post on my first social media post.

Here’s the thing about impostor syndrome anxiety…

It’s part of your crushing ego. It’s both for you and against you. On one hand, it’s quick to point out all your flaws as though you didn’t already know them. On the other hand, it’s a kind of twisted way to protect you from certain perceived disappointment or ridicule. It’s as though by criticizing you, it could prevent you from hurting yourself.

What ends up happening however, is more often than not, when you push past the fear and post anyway, you end up getting a lot of appreciative viewers. Sure, a troll or two might pop up every now and again, but the majority of your followers will have your back.

Here’s another thing about impostor syndrome anxiety…

All of us are works in progress. We’re all at different stages of our skill sets in our various forms of art. So, while it’s very true that there will always be those much more advanced than you, it’s also true that you’ll be far more advanced than others out there.

One way to maybe soothe that anxiety is to just admit that you’re learning a particular skill or medium. Your posts (if you’re online) can simply state, “Hey, here’s this work in progress. Working on (enter new skill or new medium) and am coming across this challenge.” In that one statement, you address your anxiety and put yourself in the playing field with everyone else who is struggling with the same challenge. You’ll likely notice that you begin forming a tribe of fellow artists who are willing to exchange ideas and suggestions.

Yes, it can be scary. And yes, we all go through it. But impostor syndrome anxiety does not have to cripple you. Artists were meant to share their gifts.

“Don’t die with the music still in you.” – Dr. Wayne Dyer