Imposter Syndrome
7 Signs You Might Have Imposter Syndrome—and What to Do About It
Self-doubt, anxiety, and fear of failure are common in imposter syndrome.
Updated December 28, 2024 Reviewed by Margaret Foley
Key points
- Self-doubt, over-preparation, procrastination, and perfectionism are signs of imposter syndrome.
- A fleeting sense of accomplishment after success can be a sign of imposter syndrome.
- Therapy can help identify and reframe narratives of self-doubt and helps people overcome imposter syndrome.
Imposter syndrome is a phenomenon common to high-achieving individuals who may experience self-doubt and high-functioning anxiety in times of high stress. Although it is not a formal diagnosis in the DSM-V, knowing the signs of imposter syndrome can help people address burnout, depression, and anxiety.
Also referred to as imposter phenomenon, fraud syndrome, impostors, and perceived fraudulence, imposter syndrome was first described in 1978 by Suzanne Imes, Ph.D., and Dr. Pauline Clance, Ph.D.
Recognizing Imposter Syndrome
1. The Imposter Cycle
One hallmark of imposter syndrome is the imposter cycle, which starts when people face a task or challenge, leading to either over-preparation or procrastination. Both of these responses can lead to burnout and suboptimal productivity. Over-preparers believe that they have to work harder than others to get things right, while procrastinators feel rushed and inadequate as a result of working last minute and feel like they will eventually be exposed as frauds.
A defining feature of the imposter cycle is that there is only a fleeting sense of accomplishment after a challenge is met or a task is complete. People with imposter syndrome are unable to internalize their own success and may attribute their success to luck or external factors. This perpetuates the endless cycle of self-doubt, fear, and anxiety. However, this can be seen as a strength in some contexts when characterized as humility.
Perfectionism is a significant driving force behind imposter syndrome. The need to achieve unattainable standards and self-driven expectations create a harmful feedback loop of hypercompetitiveness and harsh self-criticism, which is often fueled by comparing oneself to others. While the "need to be the best" can be a positive driving force and a source of inspiration and ambition for many high-achievers, when paired with a harsh inner self-critic and taken to extremes, perfectionism can lead to self-doubt, low self-confidence, lack of assertiveness, and unhealthy workaholism.
3. Super-Heroism and Self-Sacrificing Martyrdom
Perfectionism and the need to be the best can manifest as super-heroism and martyrdom, where people sacrifice their own self-interests and self-care for the perceived greater good (e.g., team, company, or family). Initially, this behavior might be heavily praised or rewarded, but over time, this superhero role can lead to the harmful dynamic of overfunctioning-underfunctioning cycles in personal or professional settings. This dynamic often results in the person with imposter syndrome taking on an unsustainable workload that ought to have been shared or delegated. This overload leads to an imbalance in one's personal life and relationships and eventually burnout, frustration, and resentment.
4. Fear of Failure (Atychiphobia) and Analysis Paralysis
People with imposter syndrome often experience an intense fear of failure, predicting it will expose their inadequacy. This fear can lead to high-functioning anxiety and avoiding tasks, which prevents people from starting or fully engaging in tasks. This avoidance reinforces feelings of being a fraud and amplifies the fear and shame associated with failure, perpetuating more avoidance.
5. Fear of Success (Achievemephobia)
Paradoxically, people may experience fear of success, since success can bring more attention, scrutiny, and even higher expectations that feel unattainable.
6. Denial of Competence
People with imposter syndrome often suffer from deep-seated low self-esteem and self-confidence, discounting their achievements, abilities, intelligence, experience, and skills. Often, this narrative comes from early childhood experiences or family mythology, where the narratives around their success attributed it to luck rather than effort, talent, or ability.
7. Analysis Paralysis and Indecision
A common outcome of imposter syndrome is that people may eventually face a major career or personal crisis and feel stuck or overwhelmed. This often arises when faced with significant, long-term decisions that feel irreversible or unsolvable (or all the solutions appear to have suboptimal outcomes). This stuckness can take the form of analysis paralysis and indecision, manifesting as negative rumination and forecasting negative predictions, exacerbating anxiety and depression and disrupting sleep.
Key Signs to Help Identify Imposter Syndrome
The first step to overcoming imposter syndrome is identifying and addressing it. Key signs include:
- Persistent self-doubt despite evidence of success
- Overworking or procrastinating on tasks
- Difficulty accepting compliments or recognition (deflecting praise)
- Attributing success to luck or other factors other than personal ability
- Anxiety or fear of being "found out" as a fraud
- Fleeting feelings of success after a challenge is met
- Reluctance to take on new opportunities due to fear of failure
Addressing Imposter Syndrome
Working with a therapist to help identify and address the deeper roots of self-doubt is often helpful. In working with hundreds of high-achieving individuals in therapy, I have found that there are common themes from childhood and early adulthood experiences that lead to the development of imposter syndrome.
Common causes for imposter syndrome include highly critical parents who used comparison to siblings or peers, or environments where acceptance and praise were contingent on achievements and outcomes. A lack of role models who have healthy boundaries around work or a strong sense of self-compassion and self-acceptance can also lead to imposter syndrome. Cultural expectations of humility and self-sacrifice can also play a strong role. Early traumatic childhood experience of bullying, neglect, and abuse can also instill deep feelings of unworthiness.
Working through these experiences with a psychotherapist who has experience with helping high-achieving individuals identify and reframe these underlying (often early) influences is key. Rewriting these long-standing and self-undermining narratives will help people overcome the self-doubt, shame, and anxiety that come with imposter syndrome and open up a path toward self-empowerment, self-confidence, and authenticity.
Marlynn Wei, MD, PLLC Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved.
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References
Huecker MR, Shreffler J, McKeny PT, Davis D. Imposter Phenomenon. 2023 Jul 31. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan–. PMID: 36251839.
