Set Yourself Free
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Imposter syndrome

You've heard people say they have Imposter SyndromeIt's often a sort of humble brag
It sets up an excuse for possible failureREAL Imposter Syndrome is when, deep down in your soul, you KNOW you're winging itYou aren't up to new challengesYou shouldn't really be where you areYou're likely functioning at a high level already -
terrified daily of being unmasked as a fraudYou don't put yourself forward
You don't seize opportunities
You're blinded to many of themYou don't choose YOUR joy over playing the gameIn Healthcare, you've likely had some Moral Injury tooThis acts as a catalyst or fuel on the fire of Imposter SyndromeWe see colleagues teeter and fall into the abyss of Burnout and BreakdownWe can't see ourselves teetering on the edge of that same abyssAt least until we fallSo it's enough
You are (more than) enough
You DO deserve your success
You also deserve joyMy God, you've worked hard enough for itWhen that weight lifts, you'll experience a weightless freedomStep out into that new life!

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The cure - 2 therapies

The Foundation of medicine is very usefulPartly because of the training and environment (just watch Cardiac Arrest or This Is Going to Hurt)
Partly because I understand the medical symptoms that often go with Imposter Syndrome
(particularly around anxiety)The two therapies (used TOGETHER):1) Solution Focused TherapyRather than being stuck in the 'problem', we look beyond it
Often, solutions are completely unrelated to the original problemBesides, you're smart; you've tried every solution imaginable (resilience training, yoga, meditation, anyone?)We paint that world where things are better in glorious technicolourThen we look at how far you've already gone along that road
(you will have, I promise!)It becomes possible, feasible, and then starts to come true2) The BLAST TechniqueWe identify some of the most traumatic experiences you've had
Think of it as 'stuff', but it's effectively traumaIt doesn't need to be war or similar to count
It just has to keep triggering youIt can be called PtSD rather than PTSD to reflect the different levels of traumaCalling up those painful memories and reprocessing them once and for all to file them away for good is the basis of the therapyHow?By passing a light from side to side, which you follow with your eyes
We think this, in some way, disconnects the two sides of the brain, temporarily allowing the reprocessing to occurEffectively, we call up those memories, gently shake them up (a bit like a snowglobe) and allow them to resettle differently so they can then be filed awayOnce they're filed, they no longer sit there up and front, constantly triggering usIf it makes sense already, book the therapy already

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About Us

Medicine has changed in the 30 years I've been practisingWe understand much better how Medical issues drive Psychological ones and Vice versaI spent so much time with families where we had no more Medical options and nothing else to offerWhen we reached that point, we'd say it must be PsychologicalIt always seemed a cop-out
Families felt we had no idea and just gave upIn fact, it was a mixture of both, and they needed treating togetherAn inspirational nurse (CAMHS Claire) taught me we could treat Psychological issues in the Emergency DepartmentShe left, and then I felt compelled to learn some PsychotherapyI found Solution Focused Therapy, which is simple to understand and learn, though it takes time to masterIt so happened; my hometown in Southport is almost a world centre of Solution Focused Therapy, and I had no idea!I learned Solution Focused Hypnotherapy during the pandemic when I fractured my dominant wristThat didn't really gel with me, but I found the BLAST Technique through thisI volunteered to undergo the therapy during the training and used my own Imposter Syndrome as the subjectIt took 6 minutes to be cured of it foreverI was blown away and now help others to experience the sameMine has never recurred, and it's changed my lifeLet me let it change your life, too

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WHO GETS IT?

You!
And me, and most of us at some pointThey reckon 70% of us at some pointAnyone where there is some expectation that they perform wellWe are often the 'good' children and people-pleasers
We want to be perfect (though we don't expect anyone else to be)
We worked hard, and we felt shame when we faltered
So we worked even harder
We hid or buried these episodes because we felt others would then know for sure we weren't up to the jobAlthough I focused on Healthcare staff, Lawyers, Teachers, Entrepreneurs and Authors all sufferThe irony, we (almost) all suffer in silence
Researching my book I spoke to lots of colleagues
All bar one were suffering when I asked
I talked about the book at the nurses station in the Emergency Department and drew a crowdYOU ARE SO NOT ALONE

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WHAT CAUSES IT?

What sort of things lead to Imposter Syndrome?Those times when you don't know what to do on the ward, and the nurse says, "Well, you're the Doctor!"Those times when you're humiliated for not knowing something on a ward round (in front of others often)
Even worse, you get the dreaded "What do they even teach at medical school now?"Those times when you missed something (or couldn't have seen something) and blame yourself for a patient's poor outcomeThose times when you did something wrong or missed something (purely accidentally and potentially through exhaustion), and the outcome was ok (you got away with it)If you can remember excat words used, and the details of the scene, such as what people wore (even years later), then that event is probably still triggering youThe good news is, you can put these away, once and for all and break free

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STUFF & TRAUMA

When we think of trauma, we think of war, accidents, disastersWhen we think of PTSD, we think of flashbacks, nightmares, severe fear, avoidanceIf we think of our traumas as just the 'stuff' we've gone through, it doesn't seem such a big claimOr we can think of them as Big T Traumas and Little t Traumas (though it might seem a bit patronising)
This gives us PTSD and PtSDBUT we treat them in the same way
Check out The Trauma Terminator page about traumas more generally - the treatment is the sameWe don't need our traumas to compete with othersIt only matters that they still affect usThe size of what we think of traumas is dependent on how obvious it was or would be to othersOften, our traumas (or stuff) are very personal to us
Those around at the time wouldn't probably notice or remember
But they affect us ALL the timeTHAT is why you deserve Therapy
You deserve to experience joy and not be held backBook the Therapy as soon as you feel ready