What Does Imposter Syndrome Feel Like? 5 Signs of Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is real — it’s not a “diagnosis” per se, but it’s a real experience. 

If you’ve been in a situation in which you felt insecure, doubted yourself, thought you weren’t good enough, and believed others would judge you, you’ve likely experienced imposter syndrome. 

In a previous article, I reviewed 5 things you need to know about imposter syndrome, including what imposter syndrome is and how it affects your mental health. 

Today, let’s dive deeper into what it feels like to have imposter syndrome.  Here are 5 signs of imposter syndrome.  

What is Imposter Syndrome

For more details, check out my previous article, where I review the research about what imposter syndrome is.  But, the synopsis is that imposter syndrome is a pattern of thoughts and behavior whereby a person has a persistent fear of being exposed as an incompetent fraud, despite having objective evidence of competence. 

Example: You’re objectively competent at your job — your performance reviews are generally positive, you just got a raise or promotion, and your boss often compliments your work.  Despite this, you have thoughts and feelings that you’re actually terrible at your job and you’re just one step away from being exposed.  

Example: You’re objectively a good student — you make good grades, your teachers often have positive feedback about your work, and you’ve gotten some awards or achievements for excelling.  Despite this, you have thoughts and feelings that you’re actually incompetent and you’re one paper away from people thinking you’re stupid.  

Where Imposter Syndrome Comes From

When imposter syndrome sets in, it creates an imbalance in how we view our lives.  No matter how many accolades and achievements and “atta-boy”s we receive, the one tiny mistake or the one small correction or the one neutral comment gets amplified as if it’s all that matters. 

It’s like our brain is a colander and our successes are water that flushes out through the holes, no matter how many success we have.  All we’re left with are a pile of mistakes or weaknesses or insecurities.  

What Imposter Syndrome Feels Like

1. Anxiety

Imposter syndrome comes with prominent anxiety, and if it sticks around long enough, it can also contribute to depression.  People with imposter syndrome worry frequently — about what other people think, about whether they’re good enough, about past mistakes.  They often have trouble sleeping, and they frequently have headaches, GI problems, or other physical health problems secondary to persistent anxiety.  

2. Lack of confidence

People with imposter syndrome feel insecure, and they lack confidence in the skills they objectively have.  Despite grades, promotions, positive reviews, compliments, or other objective indicators that they’re actually skilled, they nevertheless feel insecure. 

They frequently have thoughts that someone else is more skilled than they are.  Sometimes, this is objectively true, but the black-and-white thinking of imposter syndrome can trick a person into thinking that because someone else is more skilled in this particular thing, that must mean they aren’t at all skilled. 

For example, maybe your friend has an unusual knack for table decor — imposter syndrome tells you that must mean that your table decor is absolute garbage.  In truth, you can both be good at it, even if one is slightly better than the other. 

Another sign of imposter syndrome is crediting others for your work.  Imposter syndrome tries to convince us that others’ contributions were more valuable than our own, so we’ll downplay our role and upsell what others contributed.  

3. Self-criticism

Self-criticism is a hallmark trait of imposter syndrome.  People with imposter syndrome hyperfocus on their faults, weaknesses, and mistakes and dwell on these to an unreasonable extent. 

They also have trouble accepting compliments and believe others are either lying, exaggerating, or are disingenuous for offering a compliment. 

To the person with imposter syndrome, the only acceptable standard is absolute perfection — anything less is garbage and unacceptable.  As a result, they frequently become workaholics or (the opposite) quit before they even get started.  

4.  Self-doubt

Related to self-criticism, imposter syndrome comes with a load of self-doubt.  People with imposter syndrome doubt their own competence, even if they have objective measures to indicate their skills.  Instead of recognizing that they deserved an award or a promotion or a special assignment, they tell themselves they just got lucky or the applicant pool was especially small or the bosses didn’t have anyone else to choose from. 

And not only do they doubt themselves, but they assume other people doubt them, too — especially if they ask for help.  By asking for help, they fear that they’ll be exposing that there’s something they don’t know.  Imposter syndrome tells them that doing so will shine a bright light on their weaknesses, which will make other people “realize” how incompetent they really are.  

5.   Thoughts that you’re not good enough 

But imposter syndrome isn’t just doubting your abilities.  It goes farther than that into the land of truly believing you’re simply not good enough.  If something doesn’t come easily to you right away, you assume you’re stupid or incompetent or a failure. 

And imposter syndrome tricks you into believing that everyone else has got it all figured out…and you’re just not good enough in comparison.  We easily see how hard it is for us to learn new skills or gain new information, but it seems so easy to everyone else.  We can’t see their struggle, so we assume they’re just smarter or better or more equipped than we are. 

And if we’ve ever, for a second, received any sort of help from anyone, then suddenly none of our efforts seem to matter anymore.  Imposter syndrome tells us that if we had to have help, then we’re just not good enough.  

How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome can wreak some serious havoc on your mental health.  When you’re overly focused on your weaknesses and can’t give yourself credit for your strengths, life can pretty quickly look bleak.  It’s hard to have any sort of positive self-esteem in that context.  

But it’s totally possible to overcome imposter syndrome.  In an upcoming article, I’ll give you some specific details about how to overcome imposter syndrome. 

In the meantime, start tackling self-criticism.  Self-criticism is a key component of what keeps imposter syndrome alive, so learning how to defeat your inner critic is an important step in overcoming imposter syndrome.  Grab my workbook here, where I walk you step-by-step how to silence your inner critic.  It’s not about just starting to talk nicer to yourself…it’s more complicated than that.  I’ll walk you through proven, evidence-based strategies to rewire your brain and undo the habit of criticizing yourself.  

Up Next…

By reading all these articles, you’re clearly showing a commitment to mastering your mental health.  You know taking care of yourself is a big part of your overall mental health, and I know you’re really making an effort to incorporate more self-care into your routine.  Next week, I’ll take some of the guesswork out of it by giving you a self-care night routine you can follow.  Don’t miss it.

Talk to you soon,

Dr. Finch

P.S.    Remember, this is education, not treatment.  Always consult with a psychologist or therapist about your mental health to determine what information and interventions are best for you.  See the disclaimer for more details.