Challenging the Imposter & Managing the Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is a familiar, quietly corrosive voice for many people who succeed yet feel they do not deserve that success. This piece unpacks what imposter syndrome is — and what it isn’t — and offers practical, ethically framed steps you can use to manage those feelings and begin to own your achievements with more ease.

What Imposter Syndrome Is Not

• Not a formal mental health diagnosis
  Imposter syndrome is not listed in DSM or ICD diagnostic manuals, so it is not a psychiatric disorder. It is a recognizable psychological pattern rather than a clinical diagnosis.

• Not a sign of incompetence
  It commonly appears in people who are high achievers, not those who are underperforming. The original research described high‑performing women who, despite clear success, feared being "found out" as incapable.

• Not proof you’re failing
  Feeling like an imposter often coincides with being pushed into new roles, challenges, or stretches of competence. That discomfort is more likely a marker of growth than of imminent failure.

What Imposter Syndrome Is

• A maladaptive pattern of relating to success
  At its core, imposter syndrome is difficulty internalising achievement. People experiencing it habitually attribute success to external factors — luck, timing, or help from others — rather than to their effort, skill, or learning.

• Lifespan development
  It doesn’t have to be rooted exclusively in childhood; imposter feelings can develop at any point across the lifespan, often emerging when people change roles, enter new environments, or face higher expectations.

• A cognitive‑emotional loop
  Thoughts like “I don’t deserve this” or “They’ll find out I don’t know what I’m doing” create anxiety and avoidance, which can then reinforce the belief by limiting opportunities to consolidate competence through experience.

Common Thoughts and Beliefs

• “I just got lucky; I don’t deserve this.”

• “When will they discover I’m an impostor?”

• “Other people doing this job seem more qualified than me; I must be less capable.”

These beliefs feel rational in the moment, but they overlook evidence of competence, learning, and effort.

Is There a ‘Cure’?

There is no quick eradication of imposter feelings. The aim is symptom management and cognitive reframing so that imposter thoughts no longer guide behaviour. Over time, consistently practicing the steps below has helped clients to internalise success more reliably and reduces the frequency and intensity of impostor‑related distress.

Practical Steps to Manage Imposter Feelings

1. Name the pattern
   Noticing and labelling the thought — “That’s an imposter thought” — creates psychological distance and reduces its emotional power.

2. Keep an evidence log
   Record wins, feedback, and concrete examples of work you completed. This list can be returned to when facing a new challenge, as reassurance that you have succeeded in the past.

3. Reattribute causes of success
   Practice shifting explanations from external causes to factors you influenced: decisions you made, skills you applied, persistence you showed.

4. Allow for small experiments
   Choose low‑stakes ways to test feared outcomes (e.g., present at a team meeting, submit a short article). Use results to update your belief about competence.

5. Limit comparison thinking
   Replace global comparisons with specific learning questions: “What exactly do they do differently?” rather than “Why are they better than me?”

6. Use social support selectively
   Share feelings with trusted colleagues or mentors who can offer realistic feedback rather than blanket reassurance that reinforces avoidance.

7. Practice self‑compassion
   Treat yourself with the same courtesy you’d offer a trusted friend facing uncertainty. Acknowledge effort and growth, not only outcome, ie, “Not only did I get the job, I also handled the interview really well and succeeded when I thought I might have performed poorly”.

Closing Reflection

Imposter feelings are uncomfortable signposts — they often arrive when you are doing something that matters and stretches you. Rather than proof you don’t belong, they can be turned into data: evidence that you are growing. With small, steady practices — noticing the thought, collecting evidence, experimenting, and practising self‑compassion — you can begin to live into your achievements with greater integrity and calm, learning to believe more in your authentic self.