Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome elicits feelings of self-doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite your education or accomplishments.
Is Treatment Available In My State?What is Imposter Syndrome?
Imposter syndrome is a cognitive distortion that causes people to doubt their skills and accomplishments. This syndrome, which was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Suzanne Imes, PhD, and Pauline Rose Clance, PhD, elicits feelings of self- doubt and personal incompetence that persist despite your education, experience, or accomplishments. People with imposter syndrome often feel that they have only succeeded due to luck.
What are the Five Types of Imposter Syndrome?
There are five distinct imposter syndrome types that show up in different ways and bring their own unique sets of challenges.
- Superhero
Continually overwork themselves to make up for how inadequate they feel. - Natural Genius
Set exceedingly high goals and then feel crushed if they don’t meet them. - Expert
Never satisfied with their level of expertise and are always trying to learn more. - Perfectionist
Never completely happy with their work and are fixated on flaws instead of strengths. - Soloist
Prefer to work alone and won’t ask for help for fear of appearing weak or incompetent.
What Causes Imposter Syndrome?
In the earliest studies on the phenomenon, researchers found that imposter syndrome was connected to factors including early family dynamics and gender stereotypes. Subsequent research has shown that imposter syndrome may occur in people of all genders, although there is evidence that it is more prevalent among women. Personality traits or characteristics that have been linked to a higher risk of experiencing imposter syndrome include low self-efficacy, perfectionism, neuroticism, and social anxiety. The core reason that people experience imposter syndrome is due to their unrealistic, unsustainable notions about what it means to be competent.
Childhood Trauma
Your upbringing and family dynamics can cause imposter syndrome. Parenting styles characterized as controlling or overprotective often contribute to the development of imposter syndrome.
High Academic Pressures in School Settings
Impostor syndrome is highly prevalent in school settings, which is potentially the result of an overemphasis on intellectual ability and academic performance.
Workplace Insecurity
Imposter syndrome may appear at work as a feeling that you don’t deserve your job, despite all of your accomplishments, talent, or hard work.
What are the Signs and Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome?
What does imposter syndrome feel like? People suffering from imposter syndrome feel as though, at any moment, they are going to be found out as a fraud. Signs of imposter syndrome may include:
- Overachieving
- Self-doubt
- Sabotaging your own success
- Berating your performance
- An inability to realistically assess your competence and skills
- Attributing your success to external factors
- Fear that you won’t live up to expectations
- Setting very challenging goals and feeling disappointed when you fall short
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How Can Imposter Syndrome Affect You?
Imposter syndrome affects people in many different ways, and if left untreated, can take a toll on your mental health. For example:
Imposter Syndrome in Relationships
In a relationship, impostor syndrome can cause persistent worries that your partner will soon discover you’re not as great as they think. If unaddressed, these insecurities can lead you to experience distress, and sometimes, it can hasten the end of a relationship.
Imposter Syndrome at Work
Work can be a fertile ground for imposter syndrome. Despite putting in an enormous amount of effort—often to exhaustion—you may continue to beat yourself up for minor mistakes and constantly think of yourself as unworthy of your position.
Imposter Syndrome and ADHD
Individuals with ADHD may be more susceptible to imposter syndrome. Many of those individuals already feel like imposters because they must hide their difficulties from public view, and that causes additional anxiety about what would happen if people actually discovered their challenges.
How Do You Overcome Imposter Syndrome?
Overcoming imposter syndrome is possible, and there are many ways to accomplish it. Here’s where to start:
- Do your best to separate feelings from facts
Recognize that just because you think something, doesn’t mean that it’s true. - Take note of your accomplishments
In moments where you feel like an imposter, remind yourself of your successes. Self-empowerment can go a long way in coping with feelings of inadequacy. - Stop comparing yourself to others
Focus on measuring your own achievements instead of comparing them to other people’s achievements. - Talk to a therapist
A licensed therapist can help you recognize feelings associated with imposter syndrome and create new behaviors to recognize them and to get past them.
References
Imposter Syndrome FAQ
Imposter syndrome is a cognitive distortion that causes people to doubt their abilities, feel they aren’t as capable as others think, and fear they’ll be exposed as a fraud—no matter what they achieve.
Imposter syndrome is not recognized as an official mental illness. However, it is a debilitating condition that creates anxiety and depression and keeps you from doing your best at work or in life.
If you have imposter syndrome, you are not alone. Many Americans will experience imposter syndrome at some level at some point in their lives.
Imposter syndrome can affect anyone regardless of their job or social status, but women, people of color, high-achievers, and people 18 to 24 are more likely to report feelings associated with imposter syndrome.
Talk to someone who can help. LifeStance is your resource for finding the right mental health professionals to manage imposter syndrome and other related mental health issues.
