Feel like you are never good enough? Believe your success is dumb luck? Fear you will be exposed as a fraud or impostor in a sea of brilliant people?

Chances are, you aren’t alone.

According to a Psychology Today article, around 70 percent of people all across the globe have experienced similar feelings at least once in their lifetime. 

It’s called impostor syndrome, also known as impostor phenomenon or impostorism. The term was first devised by psychologists Pauline Rode Clance and Suzanne Imes when they were conducting a study about high-achieving women.

“Despite outstanding academic and professional accomplishments, [those] who experience the impostor phenomenon persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise,” Clance and Imes explained in the first-ever article on impostor syndrome. 

Those with impostor syndrome often attribute their success to “an external cause (luck) or to a temporary internal quality (effort)” rather than their own ability, creating feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy.

“I know I’ve definitely experienced [impostor syndrome] many times in my academic life,” said one SHS student. “I used to overprepare a lot, be really perfectionistic, and if I didn’t get the score I wanted, I’d immediately think I wasn’t a good student.”

There are a multitude of ways individuals experience impostor syndrome. A Stanford Learning Programs article describes it as a list of steps in a cycle. As individuals start a new task, they experience feelings of anxiety, procrastinating, or the need to overprepare. When the project is complete, a person may feel a brief sense of relief, but ultimately cannot accept it and rationalize it in negative ways, increasing feelings of self-doubt and anxiety—the feelings of being an impostor.

Internationally-recognized expert and co-founder of the Impostor Syndrome Institute, Dr. Valerie Young, classifies impostor syndrome into five categories: the perfectionist, who believes everything they work on should be without any flaws; the expert, who believes they should be able to just know everything; the soloist, who believes they should be able to succeed without any help; the natural genius, who believes they should be able to master a subject or skill easily and quickly; and the superhuman, who believes they should be able to handle it all and juggle numerous roles perfectly and easily. 

This quiz is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Please seek the advice of a qualified health provider if you believe you have impostor syndrome or have any questions regarding impostor syndrome.

Those with impostor syndrome tend to also have anxiety, depression, and other mood disorders, as well as burnout, low self-esteem, and personality disorders—although this is not always the case. Research suggests that impostor syndrome is not something that people feel all the time; it instead is a continuum of symptoms ranging from occasional worry to chronic self-doubt and fear.

Although impostor syndrome is not recognized as a formal mental health diagnosis, that has less to do with its importance as to what it actually is; as an Nepal Medical Association article states, it is a "phenomenon, an experience” rather than a “recognized psychiatric disorder.” 

What’s the cause? Well, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly one event or situation that results in this syndrome. Early childhood experiences, and family dynamics both play a role, wrote Dr. Young in her award-winning book “The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women.” However, she noted a lack of representation, societal expectations, and systemic discrimination and bias are major factors.

Indeed, according to an article published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, impostor syndrome is commonly prevalent in individuals in situations where these factors are especially present—specifically high-achievers, particularly those in the sciences, and those from marginalized communities. This includes high school students as well.

“Sometimes in high school, you think that peers around you are doing more than they actually are and are doing way more than you," said Annmarie Trabold, 11. "It's easy to compare yourself to them and feel like an impostor."

It was for this reason that Dr. Young helped create the Impostor Syndrome Institute, a company whose mission is to help others overcome their impostor syndromes. 

The first step, she writes on her website, is to recognize and acknowledge your impostor syndrome and to change your thoughts to change your feelings.

“The goal … is not to ‘fix’ anyone, “ Dr. Young notes. “It’s to provide the information, insight, and tools needed to effectively address normal impostor feelings.”

To learn more about impostor syndrome, please check out this Psychology Today article or visit impostorsyndrome.com.