Imposter syndrome: why you feel like a fraud and how to overcome it

What is imposter syndrome?

Their account was a clinical observation, not a controlled study, and the women were mostly white, middle- to upper-class and aged 20 to 45. Students imagined they had been admitted to graduate school by mistake, and put high marks down “to luck, to misgrading, or to the faulty judgment of professors”. In the authors’ words, these women “persist in believing that they are really not bright and have fooled anyone who thinks otherwise”^[3].

How common is it?

Common, but nobody knows exactly how common. In a 2020 review of 62 studies, rates ranged from 9% to 82%, “largely depending on the screening tool and cutoff used”. It was found in men and women, and from teenagers to late-career professionals^[1]. Early accounts focused on women, but about half the studies that compare men and women find no difference^[1][4]. Researchers argue that, for now, prevalence figures cannot be read as precise numbers^[5]. The popular claim that 70% of people will have it at some point traces back to a 2007 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, not to a study^[6].

How to overcome imposter syndrome: 8 steps

Clance and Imes noticed something important: “We have not found repeated successes alone sufficient to break the cycle”^[3]. So the aim is not to achieve more, but to change how you read your own success. Each step says what kind of evidence is behind it.

A note on the evidence: when a 2020 review searched the research, it found no published studies that tested treatments for imposter syndrome^[1]. Since then, a review found that coaching, online self-study and mindfulness programmes “showed potential”, but few of the studies were high quality^[2]. These steps draw on the best related evidence and on clinical experience. See also how to stop overthinking.

What to say to someone with imposter syndrome

Listen first, and tell them they are not the only one. Point to specific things they did, rather than general praise: Clance and Imes saw clients discount praise, even from a mentor^[3]. And do not dismiss it as “just a confidence thing”. This is our advice, not something that has been tested.

Signs of imposter syndrome

There is no official checklist, and this is not a diagnostic test. Common signs include^[3][6]:

• putting success down to luck or other people’s mistakes
• brushing off praise
• fearing that someone will discover you are not as capable as they think
• over-preparing or over-working so that nobody finds out, or putting things off
• feeling relief rather than pride after a success
• setting standards you can never quite meet

The imposter cycle

Clance and Imes described a loop that keeps the feeling going: worry about whether you are capable, then hard work and cover-up strategies, then a good result, then approval and “temporary good feelings”. But “the success is an empty one”^[3], so the next task brings the same worry back. Some people over-prepare; others put things off. Either way, the success tends to be put down to effort or luck rather than ability.

Researchers mostly use the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale, a 20-item questionnaire^[1]. Its author offers it for personal use and says: “Test results do not constitute an official diagnosis”^[15]. Studies use different cut-offs, reviews say there is no gold-standard measure^[2], and researchers “may not be consistently measuring the same construct”^[16]. No online quiz can tell you that you “have” it.

Is imposter syndrome a mental illness?

No. Imposter syndrome “is not a recognized psychiatric disorder” and is not in the DSM^[1]. A review of the measurement scales calls it “not a diagnosable condition yet observed in clinical and normal populations”^[17]. Clance herself did not see it as a disease^[6].

That does not make it harmless. In their clients, Clance and Imes most often saw “generalized anxiety, lack of self-confidence, depression, and frustration related to inability to meet self-imposed standards of achievement”^[3]. Experts also disagree about whether it should become a diagnosis. The authors of the 2020 review suggest it be considered for the DSM^[1]. Another team is opposed, because a label could treat minoritised people’s reactions to places where they do not feel they belong as an illness^[4].

What causes imposter syndrome?

No single cause has been shown. Reviews point to risk factors “including perfectionism, marginalized status and hierarchical workplace cultures”^[2]. People with the highest imposter scores tend to have the lowest self-esteem^[1]. Clance and Imes, writing from their therapy work, also pointed to patterns in their clients’ families^[3], but that is clinical observation, not a tested finding. Many people notice it most at a turning point: a new job, a promotion, a new course or a new country.

You may have seen “five types” of imposter syndrome. They come from educator Valerie Young’s workshops and her 2011 book: the Perfectionist, the Expert, the Natural Genius, the Soloist and the Superhuman^[18]. Many people find them a useful way to spot their own rules about competence, but they are a popular framework, not research-validated categories. We found no study that has tested them, and a major 2024 review of the research does not use them^[4].

Imposter syndrome at work

Imposter feelings often come up at work, especially in new roles and competitive fields. They are linked with lower job satisfaction and with burnout, and in one study of faculty members, stronger imposter feelings went with more emotional exhaustion^[1]. Some practical moves, which are common advice rather than tested treatments:

• Ask for specific feedback (“what worked in that report?”), not just “was it OK?”
• Write down your wins before a review, while you still remember them.
• Talk to a manager or mentor you trust, to check your read on how you are doing.

If the trouble is the workplace itself, see our page on therapy for workplace conflict.

When it is not only in your head

Sometimes the doubt is a response to real exclusion. In a study of 316 African American, Asian American and Latino/a American students, the groups did not differ in imposter feelings themselves. But discrimination had a stronger effect on imposter feelings among African American and Latino/a students, and among Asian American students, imposter feelings helped explain the link between discrimination and both depression and anxiety^[19]. A 2024 review found the harm is “most pronounced when individuals report high levels of racial discrimination”. Critics argue the idea “unduly blames individuals for feelings of incompetence while ignoring structural conditions”; the review’s authors would rather refine the idea than drop it^[4]. An opinion essay in Harvard Business Review put it this way: “For many women, feeling like an outsider isn’t an illusion — it’s the result of systemic bias and exclusion”^[20].

Feeling like an outsider abroad or in a second language

Research here is thin. In one small study of 48 doctors in training, those trained in another country were more likely to score as impostors, but the estimate was very imprecise^[21]. In a survey of master’s students of North African origin in Belgium and France, experiences of racism and minority stress were linked with stronger imposter feelings^[22]. A major review does not cover migrants or language at all, and calls for “culturally tailored interventions”^[4]. So it is not established that people living abroad have more imposter syndrome. Still, a new country, a new language and a new workplace can make the feeling more likely to show up. And because it is built from small, quick self-judgements, it can be easier to unpick in your first language. See therapy for expats.

Imposter syndrome, anxiety, depression and burnout

Imposter syndrome “is often comorbid with depression and anxiety”, and at work it is linked with burnout and lower job satisfaction^[1]. These are links, not proof that one causes the other. Most studies are snapshots, so they cannot show which comes first. One German study that followed 700 people from 2012 to 2018 found the link seems to run both ways: anxiety and depression predicted later imposter feelings, and imposter feelings predicted later anxiety and depression^[23].

The burnout link is not consistent. It showed up in a pilot study of 138 US medical students^[24], but not clearly in the small study of 48 doctors in training^[21]. Perfectionism matters here too, because it runs through anxiety, depression and eating disorders^[10]. If you recognise yourself in constant, quiet striving, read about high-functioning anxiety or teacher burnout.

Can therapy help with imposter syndrome?

There is no proven treatment for imposter syndrome itself: a 2024 review notes “there are not yet evidence-based treatments for impostor symptoms”^[4], and the 2020 review called for trials of individual and group CBT^[1]. What therapy can do is work on the patterns that keep it going. CBT that targets perfectionism has good evidence^[10], and so does self-compassion training for self-criticism^[11]. A therapist might use cognitive behavioural therapy or compassion-focused therapy, and can also help with anxiety or low mood that comes with it. See our page on therapy for low self-esteem.

Language matters for subtle work like this. UK guidance recommends offering anxiety treatment “in the preferred language of the person with GAD if possible”^[25], and in most studies of patients treated in their own language, at least one outcome was better^[26]. On Bliss Therapy you choose a therapist who speaks your language, by video, with no waitlist. 46 psychologists and counsellors list self-esteem, with sessions from €30 (about £25); 37 of them list CBT.

Our therapists are based outside the UK and the US, so they are unlikely to be on UK registers or covered by US health insurance. Ask any therapist about their training and their registration in the country where they practise.

When to get help

Imposter feelings on their own are not an illness, but they can still wear you down. Talk to a doctor or a therapist if:

• the feelings are there most of the time
• you are turning down opportunities, or working yourself to exhaustion
• you have low mood or have lost interest in things, most of the day, nearly every day, for at least 2 weeks^[27]
• you have worry that is hard to control and gets in the way of daily life (our anxiety test and depression test can help you decide whether to talk to someone)

The 2020 review advises clinicians and employers to check for imposter feelings and the problems that often come with them^[1]. You do not need to wait until it gets worse.