Skip to main content

Impostor syndrome: What is it and do you have it?

Gif of confident banana turning into self-doubt banana to represent imposter syndrome
Fear of failure and undermining your own achievements are telltale signs of impostor syndrome.()

Have you ever felt like everyone else knows what they're doing while you have no clue?

Do you honestly believe your successes are about luck, and your failings all come down to you? Do you wonder when the fraud police will kick down the door and drag you from your desk?

If your answer is 'yes': hello, and welcome to the impostors' club.

The good (and bad) news is this isn't a very exclusive club. In fact, almost all of us will be a member at some stage of our lives.

Here's what the experts say on what's happening in your brain when you feel like a fraudster, and how to try to push through those feelings.

What is impostor syndrome?

Impostor syndrome, also called impostor phenomenon or fraud syndrome, is a term to describe the psychological experience of feeling like you don't deserve your success.

It's not a diagnosable mental health condition, says clinical psychologist Kimberley Norris from the University of Tasmania, but feeling like a fake can be linked with anxiety and depression.

Impostor syndrome tends to be more common in those who are high achievers — they can't quite accept their achievements.

Woman holds a mirror and looks at reflection to depict the self-doubt and self esteem issues that arise from imposter syndrome.
You may logically know what you're capable of, but that doesn't stop the emotions of failure creeping up on you.()

People experience impostor syndrome in varying ways, but some common signs are:

  • Perfectionism — not recognising a success because you can only focus on the flaws
  • Overworking — can also be connected with perfectionism, as well as a way of avoiding finishing a project or product that will be judged
  • Undermining your achievements — pointing out your mistakes before taking ownership of a success, procrastinating and leaving things to the last minute, and then having to rush to finish
  • Fear of failure — putting off starting something, avoiding taking on new challenges and reluctance to ask for feedback as you can't face potentially failing
  • Discounting praise — pointing out other people's contributions before your own, assuming praise given is faked or exaggerated

It can affect all people in all aspects of life, but most of the research into impostor syndrome has focused on the experience in relation to work and study.

Self-leadership coach Suzanne Mercier started coaching people to overcome impostor syndrome after realising how it affected her own life.

Dr Norris explains at its worst, impostor syndrome completely limits people's lives.

"It's a belief of what I am and what I'm capable of, and what my value is as a human being in some cases," she says.

Desk with a poster saying 'ever tried, ever failed, no matter, try again, fail again' depicting the stress of imposter syndrome.
While failure is part of life, people with impostor syndrome often feel their success will always end in failure, even if there's no evidence of such.()

Why does my brain do this to me?

Dr Norris says one of the reasons we're quick to see our flaws over our achievements is because our brains are hardwired to focus on negative things.

"The human brain generally doesn't focus on good things because good things can't hurt us," she says.

"Instead it focuses on things we see as dangerous or as threats, so in this case, the threat that 'I'll be found out as a fraud'."

While this old survival technique is handy when you need to worry about lions on the horizon or snakes in the grass, it can make us miserable in the modern world — like when it makes us focus on a typo as a "threat" in the absence of snakes.

Dr Norris says impostor syndrome tends to start in the mid-to-late teens and appears to be most common in younger adults.

"The reason it might decline with age is because the real way to combat impostor phenomenon is to gather evidence," Dr Norris says.

"Over time with age, you get more opportunities to gather that evidence."

However, Ms Mercier says people can and do experience impostor syndrome later in life, particularly if they rely on the opinion of others to shape their own self-belief.

"I'm working with a client who is 66 years old," Ms Mercier says.

Dr Norris says something that feeds into impostor syndrome is receiving "non-contingent feedback".

Non-contingent feedback doesn't explain what someone has done, such as a teacher writing "good job" on a report without explaining what was good.

This sort of feedback leaves the person who received it wondering what was good about what they did, and can lead them to dismiss the positive and assume they got lucky.

A young girl holding a handwritten note that says 'I'm smart' over most of her face to indicate defeating imposter syndrome
It takes practice to learn to accept your own abilities and achievements.()

Women impostors v men impostors

While everyone can have the experience of feeling like an impostor or fraud, it can affect men and women differently.

Dr Norris says the research she's read has found it affects women more than men.

"People are more likely to have feelings of being an impostor if they're in an area that stereotypically is outside their comfort zone," Dr Norris says.

"For example … there was a lot of impostor syndrome in girls who were doing high-level mathematics at school.

"If you're breaking new ground in a way, or you're in a minority situation in an environment, you're more likely to feel these insecurities."

Ms Mercier says more women than men approach her for help with impostor syndrome, which may be partly due to the way they've been raised.

"Guys and girls are conditioned quite differently," she says.

"Pretty early on, [men are] taught to 'fake it 'til you make it' ... They are much more comfortable with that whole concept [than women]."

Ms Mercier explains that because women tend to be raised to be more aware, and take care, of other people's wellbeing, they're more likely to worry about how their actions affect other people. This can lead to more severe impostor syndrome.

How can I make it stop?

A person holds a magnifying glass to depict techniques to help you overcome imposter syndrome.
Gathering evidence about your skills can help overcome imposter syndrome.()

Both Dr Norris and Ms Mercier say impostor syndrome is an experience that tends to come and go throughout a person's life.

There's no one way to experience impostor syndrome, so there's no one way to stop it.

But there are things you can do to train your brain to focus on the good over the bad.

"The real way to combat impostor phenomenon is to gather evidence," Dr Norris says.

Dr Norris says she practises gathering evidence herself when she has moments of self-doubt in her academic work.

"Where is the proof this outcome — say, for example, this promotion — was purely due to luck? What are some other reasons that could explain why I got this promotion?"

Both Dr Norris and Ms Mercier agree overcoming impostor syndrome is an ongoing process which will be different for each person, but achievable for everyone.

"It's not something you do once and it's all fixed. It's a skill and something you have to practice," Dr Norris says.

Posted , updated 
Australia, Wellness, Mental Health