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The Person in the Mirror: A Guide to Understanding Imposter Syndrome

What is Imposter Syndrome?


Imposter Syndrome is a psychological phenomenon where individuals doubt their accomplishments and feel fear that they will be uncovered as a “fraud”. Despite an abundance of evidence to support the contrary, the fear remains present. Imposter syndrome can be characterized by four attributes:

 

  1. Self-doubt

  2. Fear of exposure

  3. Perfectionism

  4. Attributing success to external factors

 

Many people who are confronted with imposter syndrome will be able to rationalize that their accomplishments are simply by chance or by luck, resulting in a misattunement between one’s own successes as a result of hard work and a dismissal of the hard work.

 

Research has shown that imposter syndrome leads to emotional distress, including anxiety and depression. Additionally, imposter syndrome has been linked to professional burnout and reduced job performance. One example of how imposter syndrome may present itself would be in the day-to-day workings of a professional, in which they begin to question their qualifications and usefulness (despite having all of the proper qualifications to complete the job). For example, a psychotherapist may question why clients keep coming back to see them and doubt their own intelligence. This may lead to feelings of guilt or even shame on a belief that the therapist is scamming the client out of money.



Have YOU ever experienced imposter syndrome?

  • yes

  • no


 

Psychological and Behavioural Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome


  1. Chronic Self-Doubt: doubting your own abilities to complete tasks

  2. Fear of Exposure: thinking that you will be deemed a fraud

  3. Perfectionism: holding yourself to excessively high standards

  4. Attributing Success to External Factors: thinking that success is due to luck or timing

  5. Overworking: in an attempt to compensate for one’s own inadequacies, overworking, sometimes to the point of burnout

  6. Discounting Praise: unable to take positive feedback

  7. Fear of Failure: an intense fear of making mistakes or failing, leading to procrastination of completing challenging tasks

  8. Avoidance: avoiding new opportunities or challenges



Emotional Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome


  1. Anxiety: persistent worry about performance

  2. Depression: feelings of sadness, worthlessness, and hopelessness stemming from self-doubt

  3. Guilt: feeling guilty for “deceiving” others

  4. Shame: shame or embarrassment about one’s perceived lack of ability

 


Social Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome


  1. Reluctance to Seek Help: avoiding asking for help in fear that their perceived inadequacies will be uncovered

  2. Isolation: withdrawing from social situations to avoid potential exposure as a fraud

  3. Comparing Self to Others: feeling inadequate when comparing to others

 




Treatment Options for Imposter Syndrome

 

Mindfulness and Self-Compassion


Mindfulness is the act of focusing on the present moment, rather than engaging with thoughts oriented to the past or future. Mindfulness takes a stance of non-judgement, and helps us engage with our thoughts and the world clearly for what it is. Self-compassion involves treating oneself through a lens of kindness. One of the best ways to cultivate self-compassion is to begin by giving yourself three compliments every day. While this may be difficult at first, eventually the brain begins to recognize the repetition as something needed to be stored in memory. One exercise to engage in mindfulness is the five-senses exercise where you count five things you can taste, smell, see, hear, and touch.

 

Goal Setting and Growth Mindset


By understanding first where you are and where you want to be, you can begin setting goals for yourself for success. Begin this by setting realistic, achievable goals, and tracking your progress towards these goals. By adopting a growth mindset, one understands that growth is a result of effort and continuous work, highlighting how hard you have worked to be where you are.

 

Self-Care


Self-care in general is beneficial for all facets of mental health. Engaging in your favourite activities such as drinking tea, having a bath, going on a walk, watching your favourite movie, reading a book, playing a videogame, etc. is crucial to relaxing the central nervous system and cultivating feelings of joy and calm.

 

Reducing Perfectionism


Perfectionism is often seen as relating closely to anxiety. A reduction in both symptoms of anxiety and perfectionism can alleviate the pressure of imposter syndrome. The best way to accomplish this is by re-evaluating one’s standards and making them more realistic and attainable. Additionally, learning to accept and learn from one’s mistakes while simultaneously decreasing self-criticism will help to alleviate this pressure. A mental health professional via individual therapy or support groups can help support you through this process.

 

Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy


Since Imposter Syndrome is highly cognitive in nature, one of the best therapeutic interventions is that of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), which aims to target negative/unhelpful thinking patterns and alter them. By altering the thought patterns, one may alter the behavioural pattern associated with it. Specifically, CBT would target thoughts surrounding a person’s abilities and accomplishments and use behavioural experiments to increase feelings of satisfaction in one’s abilities to accomplish tasks. CBT with an experienced therapist will involve an increase in psychoeducation around topics such as shame, guilt, depression, and anxiety, and help to recognize and understand the underlying thought patterns that are occurring. 

 


 


Written by: Jason Taylor, MA, Ph.D.(cand.), RP, CSTIP 

 

 


 

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, 1252-1275. doi:10.1007/s11606-019-05364-1

 

Chrousos, G. P., Mentis, A. F. A., & Dardiotis, E. (2020). Focusing on the neuro-psycho-biological and evolutionary underpinnings of the imposter syndrome. Frontiers in Psychology11, 1553.

 

Burgess, A., & DiBartolo, P. M. (2016). Anxiety and perfectionism: Relationships, mechanisms, and conditions. Perfectionism, health, and well-being, 177-203.

 

Iwenofu, C., Dupont, R., & Kaczkurkin, A. (2024). Hope for the Future Can Reduce Anxiety, Perfectionism, and Feelings of Imposter Syndrome. Vanderbilt Undergraduate Research Journal14(1).

 

Maftei, A., Dumitriu, A., & Holman, A. C. (2021). “They will discover I’m a fraud!” The Imposter Syndrome Among Psychology Students. Studia Psychologica63(4), 337-351.

 

Rakestraw, L. (2017). How to stop feeling like a phony in your library: Recognizing the causes of the imposter syndrome, and how to put a stop to the cycle. Law Libr. J.109, 465.

 

Riegel, B., Dunbar, S. B., Fitzsimons, D., Freedland, K. E., Lee, C. S., Middleton, S., ... & Jaarsma, T. (2021). Self-care research: where are we now? Where are we going?. International journal of nursing studies116, 103402.




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