Have you ever felt like you don’t belong? Like your friends or colleagues are going to discover you’re a fraud, and you don’t actually deserve your job and accomplishments?

If so, you’re in good company. These feelings are known as impostor syndrome, or what psychologists often call impostor phenomenon. An estimated 70% of people experience these impostor feelings at some point in their lives, according to a review article published in the International Journal of Behavioral Science. Impostor syndrome affects all kinds of people from all parts of life: women, men, medical students, marketing managers, actors and executives.

What is impostor syndrome?

Impostor syndrome—the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications—was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes. In their paper, they theorized that women were uniquely affected by impostor syndrome.

Since then, research has shown that both men and women experience impostor feelings, and Clance published a later paper acknowledging that impostor syndrome is not limited to women. (She also created an impostor syndrome test.) Today, impostor syndrome can apply to anyone “who isn’t able to internalize and own their successes,” says psychologist Audrey Ervin.

Impostor syndrome expert Valerie Young, who is the author of a book on the subject, The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women, has also found patterns in people who experience impostor feelings:

“Perfectionists” set extremely high expectations for themselves, and even if they meet 99% of their goals, they’re going to feel like failures. Any small mistake will make them question their own competence.
“Experts” feel the need to know every piece of information before they start a project and constantly look for new certifications or trainings to improve their skills. They won’t apply for a job if they don’t meet all the criteria in the posting, and they might be hesitant to ask a question in class or speak up in a meeting at work because they’re afraid of looking stupid if they don’t already know the answer.
When the “natural genius” has to struggle or work hard to accomplish something, he or she thinks this means they aren’t good enough. They are used to skills coming easily, and when they have to put in effort, their brain tells them that’s proof they’re an impostor.
“Soloists” feel they have to accomplish tasks on their own, and if they need to ask for help, they think that means they are a failure or a fraud.
“Supermen” or “superwomen” push themselves to work harder than those around them to prove that they’re not impostors. They feel the need to succeed in all aspects of life—at work, as parents, as partners—and may feel stressed when they are not accomplishing something…

One of the best perks of working at Health is that I'm lucky enough to test a lot of activewear. As a result, I've become very, very opinionated about leggings, and prefer different brands for different activities: supersoft Manduka leggings are my go-to for flights; Onzie leggings are lightweight, making them ideal for an outdoor run; and Visakai leggings, with their built-in underwear, help me flow through my weekly vinyasa yoga class.

Recently, though, I had the opportunity to try leggings from Core 10, Amazon's newest private athletic brand. The line includes both sports bras and tights, but it was their Build Your Own Bottoms that caught my eye. The tool lets you customize your own perfect pair of leggings by selecting the length, waistband, and style of your choice. Prices range from $59 for capris to $69 for full length. I went with the high-waist leggings in the 7/8 length.

To buy: from $59; amazon.com

My order arrived a few days before I was scheduled to go on a two-week vacation, and since I'd already packed most of the leggings in my regular rotation, I decided to debut the Core 10 bottoms on the five-hour flight. Let me tell you that they were incredibly comfortable—the perfect amount of stretch, a high waistband that sat comfortably on my midsection (no annoying digging!), and a fit that hugged my curves but never felt like my circulation was cut off.

RELATED: The 7 Best Workout Leggings With Pockets

They were so comfy, in fact, that I kept wanting to re-wear them throughout my trip, even though I had my other faves stashed in my suitcase. My Core 10 leggings carried me through multiple hotel gym workouts, a three-mile hike, and two flights (don't worry—I laundered them between wears).

There is one catch, though: The Core 10 line is a Prime exclusive, meaning you must have a subscription to the service to order them. If you aren't a member already, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial here.

This video is part of Health’s #RealLifeStrong series, where we are celebrating women who represent strength, resilience, and grace.

When Sydney Mesher tells people she's a dancer, they're often surprised, she says. The 20-year-old was born without a left hand, but that hasn't stopped her from pursuing her dreams in an industry known for its rigid body standards: "I get to be that person that kind of breaks that barrier, of that mindset."

Mesher’s left arm ends at the base of her wrist due to symbrachydactyly, a rare condition that causes the underdevelopment of limbs in the womb. "Growing up, I dealt with a lot of bullying," says the Portland, Ore., native. But she eventually recognized that the way people reacted to her was really all about them: "What's happening is someone's acting out of their own fear."

RELATED: Why This Ballerina With Panic Disorder and Depression Refuses to Apologize for Her Mental Illness

Mesher is currently studying dance at Pace University in New York City. "With dance you are constantly growing. There's no stopping point," she says. "There's always a place to be better." After college, she hopes to become a Rockette or a backup dancer for Lady Gaga.

“I’m very grateful that I’m at a time in this industry where we’re starting to accept different body types," she says. "I know I am different. Especially as an artist, it's so important to have those differences."

Her individuality shines through her work: "This is part of who I am. It’s not who I am, but it’s part of me. I want to share who I am and what I love, and celebrate that.” For more of Mesher's story, check out the video above. 

We want to hear about more #RealLifeStrong women. Nominate yourself—or a friend or family member—here. We’ll be sharing the most inspiring stories we receive in the months ahead.

A U.K. surgeon is under investigation after he allegedly removed a woman’s ovaries without her consent. The woman committed suicide four years later.

Lucinda Methuen-Campbell, then 54, went to the private Spire Hospital in Bristol, England in 2014 for surgery to repair a bowel disorder. The surgeon, Anthony Dixon, allegedly decided to take out her ovaries during the procedure because they were “in the way,” reports BBC News.

Methuen-Campbell told BBC News before her death that Dixon never mentioned anything about removing her ovaries before the surgery, but if he had, she at least would have been “vaguely prepared.”

“He said he thought he’d done me a favor. And he said, ‘I thought you know, a woman of your age wouldn’t really need her ovaries,’ ” Methuen-Campbell previously said. “I said ‘Why did you remove them?’ and he just said ‘They were in the way.’ ”

She added that while she was in pain from the bowel disorder before the surgery, what came after was much worse — both from the removal of her ovaries and from what she believes to be a botched surgery.

“My life is absolutely ruined but you know, I can’t say that it’s Mr. Dixon [that’s] ruined my life,” she said.

Four years later, in January 2018, Methuen-Campbell committed suicide. The assistant coroner, Aled Gruffydd, believes that the pain she was in following the surgery led to her decision to take her life.

“The operation on Mrs. Methuen-Campbell was unsuccessful and made her pain worse and it affected her mental health,” he wrote in his report, according to BBC News. “I’m satisfied without doubt that she intended to take her own life. The pain she was in led to her taking her own life.”

Her son Angus, 19, also believes that the surgery led to her suicide.

“She was in a great deal of pain after the operations and she was very upset that her ovaries had been removed,” Angus said.

Methuen-Campbell’s partner, Philip Chatfield, added that she also underwent a follow-up operation that “made things even worse.”

“The pain continued to get worse and nobody seemed able to solve the problem,” he said.

Dixon is now suspended from two hospitals in Bristol, and under investigation by the U.K.’s National Health Service for his surgery methods, according to BBC News. In a statement to PEOPLE, Spire Hospital confirmed that he is restricted from working.

“We were shocked and deeply saddened by Lucinda Methuen-Campbell’s death and offer our sincere condolences to her family at this extremely difficult time,” they said. “Mr. Dixon is currently suspended from practicing in our hospitals, and we have been fully supporting and cooperating with North Bristol NHS Trust while it conducts its investigation into his practice. Due to these on-going investigations, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage…

One teenager in Houston, Texas, said a weightlifting session gone wrong led to his hospitalization. Last Thursday, 17-year-old Jared Shamburger talked to ABC affiliate KTRK about how he felt “super duper sore” after a 90-minute strength-training workout at the gym.

“Everything hurt,” he said. “It hurt to the touch. It was swollen.”

After a call to his doctor, Shamburger was hospitalized for five days with rhabdomyolysis, or rhabdo, a condition in which muscle tissue breaks down so severely that the contents of the muscle fibers leak into the bloodstream and cause a kidney blockage. Unchecked, it can lead to kidney damage and even death.

RELATED: This 25-Minute Strength Workout Activates Every Muscle Group

While Shamburger is expected to make a full recovery, this alarming condition is something we’ve seen before. In January 2017, a University of Oregon football player was also hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis after enduring a tough “military” style workout. Vijay Jotwani, MD, a primary sports medicine physician at Houston Methodist, explained how rhabdomyolysis happens.

“It’s a product of pushing well past your limits,” he told Health in a previous interview. “You’re working hard, feeling the burn and go that next step—and another step, pushing far past the point of pain. Later you have extreme muscle pain and swelling—much worse than delayed muscle soreness. You may also have dark colored urine. That’s because the [protein] myoglobin from your muscles has flooded in your bloodstream and your kidneys are overwhelmed.”

Rhabdomyolysis is not a common diagnosis, but it is known to affect those who do grueling workouts, such as the kind army recruits or CrossFit devotees take part in. If you push yourself hard during intense workouts, be aware of the symptoms and how you can avoid rhabdomyolysis. Part of rhabdo-related kidney damage is caused by dehydration, so staying hydrated is crucial. And if you develop severe muscle pain, swelling, stiffness and/or dark colored urine, go to the hospital.

RELATED: What Exercise Actually Does to Your Body

Shamburger’s mother Judy said the “mama bear” in her kicked in when her son explained his condition. "If he hadn't caught it, if he hadn't told me, if we had just gone out of town about our way, I can't even imagine,” she told KTRK. “And I don't want to, about what could have happened."

On a sunny April afternoon in 2004, Brett Bainter came home from work around 3:30 p.m. and found his almost-4-year-old, Jake, riding his green bike in circles in the family’s driveway.

Jake’s babysitter was still there and it was a nice day, so Brett decided to mow the lawn. Brett reached a dead-end at the side of the house, but when he reversed the mower to turn around, he felt a bump. He didn’t know that Jake had gotten off his bike and followed him.

Brett accidentally ran over his son’s leg. Now, 14 years later, Jake is thriving — and his family is reflecting on the split second that changed their lives.

The aftermath

“That haunts me still. I looked down and his upper torso was coming out of the mower deck,” Brett, now 51, tells PEOPLE. “I lifted the mower off of him and I scooped him up and I had him in my arms. I was screaming more than he was. But he was screaming a lot.”

Jake was hospitalized for 28 days immediately following the accident. Over the next four years, he underwent 15 surgeries to try to save his leg.

Then, at age 9, Jake decided — and proudly announced to his classmates — that he was going to become an amputee. But the morning of his amputation, February 19, 2008, his parents were still on the fence about whether they were making the right choice. They asked God to send them a sign.

And they got one: Driving to the hospital, Jake spotted a biker on the side of the road with a prosthetic leg. Brett quickly made a U-turn and the family stopped to talk with Bill Hansbury. Then 71, Hansbury had lost his leg to a MRSA infection only the year before, after a lifetime of athleticism.

“I knelt down and talked to Jake,” Hansbury, who was on a 30-mile bike ride that fateful day, tells PEOPLE. “I told him, ‘If I can do it, you can. You’re seven and I’m 10 times older than you. If I can do it, boy, you can fly.’ ”

Hansbury visited Jake in the hospital, and helped coach his parents through his recovery. “He was like another dad,” Jodi Bainter tells PEOPLE now. “We love him. He’s family.”

Making connections

The years that followed brought many other changes.

Jodi began using a blog to document Jake’s journey, and in 2012 self-published a book called Make it Morning. As a result, she became a frequent resource for other parents whose children were injured in lawn mower accidents.

“I was tired of talking to these families after their kids were already amputees,” Jodi says.

So in August 2015, she started a foundation called Limbs Matter, which aims to encourage parents to keep their children indoors while they mow the lawn.

“That’s an important message for parents of young children,” says Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

One child is admitted to the emergency room every hour for lawn mower-related accidents in the U…