5 Tips for Breaking up with the Imposter Monster

Gina Messina, Ph.D. 10/10/2020

Have you ever been in a toxic relationship? You know, that partner you knew you should break up with, the one all your friends told you to ditch, but somehow you kept getting pulled back in? Yep, that’s what imposter syndrome is like and it’s one of the greatest barriers to success. It’s that persistent doubt within ourselves that’s like a monster lurking over your shoulder telling you that you don’t belong, you’re a fraud, and you’re not good enough. Fear takes over and, as a result, you don’t take risks and your talents often go unnoticed. Women are particularly susceptible to the “imposter monster” and it is one of the most common ways we hold ourselves back. Sitting in my first class in graduate…

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Categories: Institute of Women, Wellness & Work, Wellness & Personal Growth

Tags: confidence, imposter syndrome, self-esteem

Gina Messina, Ph.D.

woman looking up at sky thinking, showing mental performance

Mental performance and you: 10 things you need to know

Our mental performance, how we think, analyze, and perceive the world, influences how we work, tackle challenges, relate to others, manage stress and more. Where we choose to put our focus has a tremendous impact on how we feel and perform in our day-to-day lives. Julie Jones, Mental Performance Coach and Institute instructor, specializes in helping people boost their mental game, and in teaching them how mental training, positivity and self-awareness can help us do better in our jobs, our personal lives, as leaders, as athletes, and as members of the community. As a former Division I softball coach, Julie specializes in training athletes in mental performance techniques. The same brain strategies that can help a softball player improve her swing can help us all…

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Institute Editorial Team 08/02/2021

Meditation for beginners

We live in a demanding world — with hyper-connectivity and constant digital overload putting us under more pressure than ever before. For many of us, our stress levels have heightened as a result. Nowadays, trivial experiences, such as a traffic jam or work deadlines, can trigger our anxiety almost instantly, with one of the worst-case scenarios being a full-blown panic attack. Meditation is a powerful skill that can reduce stress, lessen symptoms of anxiety, and calm a panic attack. With practice, meditation can become a power switch, allowing us to turn off our non-stop lifestyle for a much-needed break and a chance to recharge our mind and body. The key to medication is practice. If you’re meditating for the very first time, you may find…

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Institute Editorial Team 01/24/2021

How To Recognize and Handle Burnout

What Is Burnout? Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion that comes from stress exposure (Schaufeli & Greenglass, 2001). Generally, the stress that leads to burnout is consistent and ongoing for an extended period. A single stressful event usually isn’t enough to cause burnout. When you are burned out you may feel constantly exhausted or anxious and on edge. You may feel irritable and angry. You may feel like you are living in a fog and unable to think clearly. You may be unable to relax or get to sleep. Burnout Syndrome Burnout syndrome was first formally defined in the 1970s to describe a collection of symptoms often seen in people working as medical professionals, teachers, social workers, and others in helping…

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Institute Editorial Team 03/08/2023

5 Exercises for Practicing Self-Compassion

Have you ever beat yourself up or said unkind words to yourself? If you’re like most of us, your answer is probably “yes.” Especially as women, we tend to be our own worst critics, and we usually treat ourselves in cruel ways that we’d never treat other people!But there’s a different way. Self-compassion is the practice of being kind and understanding with ourselves — not only when we succeed, but when we fail, too. Here, we’ve compiled 5 exercises you can use to start practicing self-compassion. These practices are based on extensive research by Dr. Kristin Neff, a psychologist who specializes in self-compassion. Try to incorporate them into your daily schedule as much as possible. You can use these 5 exercises at any time, day…

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 02/28/2022

5 Ways Your Body Carries Stress and How to Relieve It

Most people who experience negative and unwanted emotions try to push them away. You may experience fear, sadness, hurt and irritation throughout your life, but instead of acknowledging these emotions, you might ignore and deny them. Storing unwanted feelings can result in aches and pains. This is not always the case, but there are bodily reactions to stress. These emotions can manifest their way into areas of the body and create tension. How Your Emotions Get Stuck Research supports the idea that mental and emotional well-being impacts physical health. An excellent example is being afraid and having your fight-flight or freeze response kick in. Your body generates a physical reaction due to fear. We are constantly taking in information, which is processed in our autonomic…

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Mia Barnes 02/10/2023

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