Yes, Impostor Syndrome
Is Real. Here’s How to
Deal with It
By Abigail Abrams
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. It’s known as
impostor syndrome. Some
70% of us experience these
feelings at some point,
according to a review article
in the International Journal
of Behavioral Science.
Impostor syndrome affects
all kinds of people: women,
men, med students,
marketing managers,
actors, executives.
What is impostor
syndrome?
The idea that you’ve only
succeeded due to luck, not
talent or qualifi cations, was
fi rst identifi ed in 1978 by
psychologists Pauline Rose
Clance and Suzanne Imes.
They theorized that women
were uniquely affected
by impostor syndrome,
but research has since
shown that both sexes
experience such feelings.
Today, impostor syndrome
can apply to anyone “who
isn’t able to internalize and
own their successes,” says
psychologist Audrey Ervin.
Valerie Young, the author
of a book on the subject,
The Secret Thoughts of
Successful Women, has
found patterns in people
who experience impostor
feelings. “Perfectionists”
set extremely high
expectations ; even if they
meet 99% of their goals,
they’ll feel like failures.
“Experts” need to know
every piece of information
before starting a project.
They won’t apply for a job if
they don’t meet all criteria
in the posting, and they
might hesitate to ask a
question in class or speak
up in a meeting for fear of
looking stupid.
When the “natural
genius” has to struggle
or work hard , that person
thinks it means they’re not
good enough. They’re used
to skills coming easily, and
when they have to put in
effort, their brain tells them
they’re an impostor.
“Soloists” feel that if
they ask for help, they’re a
failure or fraud. “Supermen”
or “superwomen” push
themselves harder than
others to prove they’re not
impostors. They need to
succeed in all aspects of
life—at work, as parents,
as partners—and may feel
stressed when they are not
accomplishing something.Why do people experience
impostor syndrome?
Some experts believe it has
to do with personality traits
like anxiety or neuroticism;
others focus on family
or behavioral causes.
Childhood memories—say,
feeling that your grades
disappointed your parents
or that your siblings
outshone you— can leave
a lasting impact. “People
often internalize these
ideas: that in order to be
loved , ‘I need to achieve,’ ”
says Ervin. “It becomes a
self-perpetuating cycle.”
Factors such as
one’s environment
or institutionalized
discrimination can also spur
impostor feelings. “The
more people [near you] who
look or sound like you, the
more confi dent you feel,”
says Young. “Conversely,the fewer people who look
or sound like you, it can
for many people impact
their confi dence.” This is
especially true “whenever
you belong to a group for
whom there are stereotypes
about competence,”
including minorities, women
in STEM fi elds and even
international students at
U.S. universities.How does one overcome
impostor syndrome?
One of the fi rst steps
is to acknowledge the
thoughts and put them in
perspective. “We can help
teach people to let go and
more critically question
those thoughts,” says Ervin.
“I encourage clients to ask,
‘Does that thought help or
hinder me?’ ”
You can also reframe
your thoughts. Young says
she reminds people that
the only difference between
someone who experiences
impostor syndrome and
someone who does not
is how they respond to
challenges. “People who
don’t feel like impostors
are no more intelligent
or competent or capable
than the rest of us,” Youngsays. “It means we just
have to learn to think like
non-impostors.” Learning to
value constructive criticism,
understanding you’re
actually slowing your team
down when you donÕt ask
for help, and remembering
that the more you practice a
skill, the better you’ll get at
it, can all help.
And it doesn’t hurt to
confi de in trusted friends or
mentors who can reassure
you that what you’re
feeling is normal; knowing
that others have been in
your position can make
it seem less scary. If you
want to delve more deeply
into these feelings, Ervin
recommends seeking out a
professional psychologist.
Most people experience
moments of doubt,
and that’s normal. The
important part is not to
let that doubt control your
actions, says Young. “The
goal is not to never feel
like an impostor. The goal
for me is to give [people]
the tools and the insight
and information to talk
themselves down faster,”
she says. “They can still
have an impostor moment,
but not an impostor life.”