If you are a student at LSE, chances are at some point during your time here you have experienced imposter syndrome. Thinking we don’t deserve to be at LSE and somehow made it here by fluke is a very common thought that occurs to a lot of students, including me. When I look at everything that my peers in my programme have achieved the only thought that comes to my mind is that I don’t deserve to be here. Unfortunately, this thought is all too common and not a lot of us tend to actually address this openly.

To deal with my imposter syndrome, the one thing that really helped was talking about it during therapy. My therapist, having known me for some time, was able to identify my patterns of thinking and help me work towards resolving my imposter syndrome. If you are able to, then I strongly suggest seeking therapy and counselling services to work through these feelings. The LSE Student Wellbeing and Counselling Service is a great resource for students who are struggling with their mental health at university. Asking for help when you’re struggling is very important and you should definitely make use of the amazing resources that are available to you.

I also found that talking about it with my friends was always helpful. It helped me understand that almost everyone around me felt the same way and it somehow put a lot of things in perspective. It’s also important to keep reminding yourself about your achievements so far. All of us have achieved a lot to be studying at one of the world’s best universities and we tend to forget it sometimes. Keep reminding yourself of what you have achieved to make you truly believe that you deserve to be here.

It’s unfortunate that a lot of us feel this way but it’s important that we recognise this is an issue that needs to be addressed and resolved. The fact is, all of us that deserve to be here and should feel it as well.