Are You an Imposter?

Do you constantly feel insecure about your work despite great performance reviews? After you've worked hard to earn a promotion, is there a little voice in your head that says you don't deserve it? If these scenarios sound familiar, then you may be experiencing imposter syndrome.

Imposter syndrome, also known as imposter phenomenon, is a psychological condition that can plague high-achieving, highly successful people. It occurs when people cannot shake the unrealistic belief that they are really imposters, frauds, and phonies. These "imposters" find it difficult to take credit for their accomplishments, and do not believe that their success is the result of their own abilities. Instead, they believe that they have tricked others into thinking that they are more intelligent and capable than they really are. This glaring discrepancy between how others see them and how they see themselves becomes a source of anxiety that can hamper careers and lives.

Psychologists Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes first identified imposter syndrome in a group of high-achieving women, and published their findings in the fall 1978 edition of Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice. More recent research suggests that men may be equally susceptible to the condition, but have a harder time admitting the problem.

Doctors, academics, business people, and entertainers are especially prone to imposter syndrome. Among celebrities, Michelle Pfeiffer, Bob Fosse, and Jodi Foster have all confessed to feeling like talentless fakes, according to an article that appeared on July 14, 2007 in The Toronto Star. Among healthcare professionals, research published in the April 2004 edition of Family Medicine found that 41% of female family medicine residents and 24% of male family medicine residents rated themselves as imposters based on the Clance Imposter Scale. Furthermore, "Imposter symptoms were highly correlated with depression and anxiety … These residents suffer psychological distress and do not believe they will be ready to practice family medicine after graduation."

Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome

Take the Clance Imposter Phenomenon Test to see if you might suffer from imposter syndrome. In general, symptoms include:

Problems Caused by Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome can wreak havoc on a person's professional and personal life. Due to a persistent fear of failure, some people abandon their career goals and accept jobs that are far beneath their qualifications and abilities. Others try to bury their feelings of self-doubt through overwork, but are usually unsuccessful at banishing their fears. Imposter syndrome is often exacerbated by new challenges, such as a major project or promotion. Since increased responsibilities will increase the tension between their outward competence and inner feelings of inadequacy, sufferers may sometimes fear success and deliberately pass up good opportunities.

According to The Toronto Star article, people who suffer from imposter syndrome often experience stress, anxiety, depression, isolation, and burnout. They are also prone to physical problems and harmful behaviors, such as exhaustion, sleep problems, headaches, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Causes of Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is usually a result of both internal and external causes. Work environments that are fiercely competitive can create unrealistic expectations and self-doubt that contribute to imposter syndrome. In medicine, I would venture that the pressure to be infallible can contribute to isolation and insecurity. Being a minority in terms of race, gender, or class can also contribute to a person's feelings of being an outsider, and thus an imposter in her or his work environment.

People whose goals clash with their family's expectations are more likely to experience imposter syndrome, and this clash may be linked to gender, race, class, religion, age, or other factors. Clance and Imes reported two family scenarios that predisposed women to imposter syndrome. In the first scenario, one sibling was deemed the smart child of the family, and the imposter was unable to change her family's perceptions about this assessment, even though she was more accomplished than her sibling. As a result, the imposter doubted her own intelligence. In the second scenario, a family believed that a child should be effortlessly successful at everything. Upon experiencing normal difficulties, the child began to believe that her abilities were only average or below average.

Ironically, success often contributes to an imposter's sense of inadequacy. Imposters work extremely hard, sometimes to the point of compulsion, and feel that they're narrowly disguising their supposed incompetence from others. Their work usually brings success and a temporary sense of relief, but does not lead to lasting confidence. This pattern also perpetuates a subconscious belief that fear of failure leads to success, while confidence will lead to failure.

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

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