Have you ever given your credit of success, your accomplishments, and your good job to luck and not to your hard work, or capability? Do you often feel like a fraud, like you have somehow made everyone believe you’re smarter or more capable than you really are? That is quiet a distressing feeling to carry. But you are not alone in it. Research suggests that up to 82% of people face imposter feelings at some point in their lives. Psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes first described these patterns in 1978 after observing it in high achieving professional women.

Imposter syndrome also referred to as imposter phenomenon or fraud syndrome or perceived fraudulence, describes a situation in which a high- achieving individuals struggle to recognize or internalize their accomplishments. Despite objective evidence of success, they may experience persistent self-doubt and fear that others may eventually discover that they are not as competent as they appear. Imposter syndrome is not a formal psychiatric diagnosis nor is it listed in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders or the International Classification of Diseases (DSM-5) as a mental health disorder. However, these feelings can be associated with anxiety, depression, burnout, lower job satisfaction, and reduced confidence in professional settings.

What It Feels Like: Signs and Symptoms

• Persistent self-doubt and fear of being “exposed” as incompetent, despite objective evidence of success.

• Difficulty attributing success to one’s own ability, crediting luck, timing, or help from others instead.

• Decreased self-confidence and self-esteem.

• Over-Preparation and Procrastination: Working excessively hard to hide a perceived lack of skill, or putting things off due to anxiety over how the work will turn out.

• People with imposter syndrome have intense fear of failure that can lead to high functioning anxiety and avoidance of tasks which prevents them from engaging in tasks.

• Fear of success as they feel more scrutinized.

• Overworking excessively just to prove ones’ worth.

Types of imposter syndrome

Basically, people with imposter syndrome have fear of being exposed as fraud or inadequate, but it shows up differently depending on personality and coping style. Following are the types of imposter syndrome:

• The perfectionist: Perfectionists set exceptionally high standards for themselves, so even a minor mistake may feel like a significant failure. For example, a student receives excellent scores in all his subjects but focuses only on his one small mistake, believing his entire assignment was mediocre.

• The natural genius: Natural geniuses think that they don’t need to work hard or make effort for success to come. However, if they have to work hard, seek help, or spend more time learning, they may interpret it as a sign that they are not naturally talented or intelligent. For example, a student who usually performs well but needs to spend several hours to study for a difficult exam may start doubting his ability or intelligence.

• The superwoman/superman: These people believe that they should ace in every area of life, be it work, relationship, or personal responsibilities. Struggling in even one area feels like a complete failure. For example, A working parent who performs well at workplace and manages household responsibilities but feels like a failure after missing their child’s school performance.

• The expert: The experts tie their self-worth to their competence. Any shortcomings in their knowledge or skills makes them fearful about being exposed as deceiving and incapable. For instance, an experienced public speaker dreads the question-answer session at the end of their speech as they fear they might not be able to answer the unexpected questions.

• The soloist: These people consider only solo achievements as their own. Any little contribution from others is seen as a sign of weakness and failure.

What leads to imposter syndrome?

Numerous theories have been given to explain this not so rare syndrome:

• Childhood experiences and upbringing: Children growing up in families that emphasize achievement, comparison, or conditional approval have higher chances of developing imposter phenomenon. These early experiences may shape their idea of self-worth, giving them fear of inadequacy and self-doubt.

• Personality Traits: Certain personality traits have tendency to have heightened sense of imposter feelings such as perfectionism (Perfectionism is a personality trait characterized by striving for flawlessness, setting unrealistically high standards, and tying self-worth to achievement or performance) and neuroticism (Neuroticism is a personality trait characterized by emotional instability and a tendency to experience frequent negative emotions such as anxiety, sadness, and anger).

• Cognitive-behavioural Perspective: Distorted thought pattern such as attributing their success to luck or any external situations can lead to imposter syndrome. Such thought patterns can increase self-doubt and diminish self-worth.

• Evolutionary point of view: In earlier times, the imposter feelings might have helped with adaptive qualities such as humility which may have contributed to group-cohesion. These same qualities in excess become harmful in today’s high-achieving environments.

Tips to manage

• Knowing that you aren’t alone: These feelings can make you feel isolated. But speaking about it openly will dismantle this myth.

• Acknowledge and name it: The first step towards healing is acknowledging your feelings. Learn to differentiate between feelings and facts. You are feeling like an imposter but you aren’t an imposter.

• Positive self-talk: Replace the negative thoughts with positive thinking. The thoughts like “I just got lucky” reinforce the imposter feelings instead learn to acknowledge your hard work and efforts.

• Adopt a growth mindset: Believing that efforts can change the results and skills can be acquired through learning helps one come out of their fixed mindset. Investing in one self through self-care, upskilling and self-compassion can break the distorted thinking patterns of an imposter syndrome.

A final thought

Feeling like an imposter doesn’t mean that you are the one. Sometimes the mind focuses so effortlessly on negative things that it overlooks everything that has already been accomplished. We always imagine ourselves to be perfect, although it is perfectly fine to falter at certain times, be it at work, in relationships, or at personal responsibilities. We should learn to forgive ourselves for our mistakes and embrace our wins. We do not have to be perfect to belong, to succeed, or to be proud of how far you have come. Sometimes, we simply need to give ourselves permission to be human.

References:

Bravata, D. M., Watts, S. A., Keefer, A. L., Madhusudhan, D. K., Taylor, K. T., Clark, D. M., Nelson, R. S., Cokley, K. O., & Hagg, H. K. (2020). Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: A systematic review. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 35(4), 1252–1275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-019-05364-1

Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). The impostor phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research & Practice, 15(3), 241–247. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0086006

Drescher, A. (2025, December 9). How to deal with impostor syndrome. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/how-to-deal-with-imposter-syndrome/

Huecker, M. R., Shreffler, J., McKeny, P. T., & Davis, D. (2023). Imposter phenomenon. StatPearls. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/books/NBK585058/

Wei, M. (2024, December 28). 7 signs you might have imposter syndrome—and what to do about it. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/urban-survival/202412/7-signs-you-might-have-imposter-syndrome-and-what-to-do-about-it