Why I don’t like the term ‘Impostor Syndrome’ and why you shouldn’t either!

I have never really liked the popular term ‘Impostor Syndrome’ because it is clinically vague. It also hints at illness, posing as a psychiatric condition that may even require medication. Coined in the late 1970s as ‘Imposter Phenomenon’ by two American psychologists, the term was first used to refer to high achievers, specifically scholars, students and administrators, who believed that their success was a result of luck or over-representation of their true worth. Subsequent research has mainly focused on the experiences of professional women (largely overlooking that men may also suffer from chronic diffidence in the workspace) and minorities within the workforce. The source of working women’s persistent self-doubt and negative self-evaluation has been variously attributed to perfectionism, conditional validation in childhood (‘We value you as long as you perform well’), poor attachment, people pleasing, and other difficulties in our formative years.

Social and organisational psychologists have subsequently entered the debate, expanding the public understanding. They argue, from a social constructivist perspective, that the root cause of ‘imposterism’ is not located in the individual, but rather in the societal, organisational or interpersonal context which individuals inhabit. Believing that Impostor Phenomenon is mainly experienced by women and ethnic minorities working in inimical or overwhelmingly male workspaces where chauvinistic patterns persist, the authors call for systemic cultural change in the public square.

HONING IN ON THE PROBLEM

Feeling an impostor is a manifestation of low self-esteem. Self-esteem – contrary to what we may feel – is not a general trait, but context specific. You may feel inadequate at work, but confident in different situations such as organising activities for your children’s schools, arranging community or charity events, learning new skills, hosting large events and managing the family’s finances or investments. Does this suggest that the problem really does reside in the context, and that imposterism is a response to the insecurity that inherits in post-modern capitalism? Or, alternatively, can we ask people to transfer the skills they employ in the areas of their lives where they flourish to environments where they are overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy?

MOVING FROM PROBLEMS TO GOALS: TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

Ideas about the causes of imposterism regularly feature in the media. We are told that the condition can lead to mental distress, impaired work performance, and inhibit career progression. But we need solutions now: we cannot simply blame the environment and wait for institutions to modernise their policies or adapt their working practices. Self-blame is no better than blaming our environment. Both mindsets result in anger, and anger manifests itself in its socially accepted guise as depression. A more adaptive formula is to reframe our problem as a goal: going from ‘I am an impostor’ to ‘I want to feel competent.’ This shift in outlook gives us a sense of control over our situation, creating a sense of agency over our lives, and therefore free to start to make changes.

Many of my patients are familiar with the concept that we all have limited attention: it is not possible, for example, to divide 2000.36 by 3.14, at the same time as performing an Irish jig, learning French verbs, searching out low-carb recipes that you can produce in under 40 minutes, and talking to a friend over WhatsApp. We just do not have enough attentional ‘bandwidth’. So we choose to narrow our focus to the loudest stimulus (a child crying), the most salient (discussing a project with our Team) or the most productive (revising for an upcoming exam). We are all capable of selective attention.

Of course, there is a snag: when we are depressed or anxious we often struggle to screen out our emotions. Negative self-referential thoughts (‘I’m not good enough’ or ‘Other people are so much better than me’) and their accompanying emotions (inadequacy, grief, sadness, hopelessness, etc) intrude and then overwhelm our ability to focus fully on the task at hand. Reduced focus results in lower productivity, impaired efficiency and more self-blame, leading to an increase in depression and/or anxiety. And a strengthening of our feelings of imposterism.

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?

There are 3 ways to change our mindset – if we want to! (Some people might prefer to criticise themselves rather than wait for others to criticise them. This is a self-defeating strategy, sadly not uncommon, which may require professional help).

1) Learn about Cognitive Dissonance – and then reflect.

As a species, we can experience conflicting emotions at the same time, e.g. shame at letting someone down but relief at not having to show up. We cannot, however, entertain conflicting beliefs at the same time, e.g. ‘I am competent’ and ‘I am incompetent’. If your colleagues and annual appraisal are mainly positive, it is difficult to maintain that you are an impostor. One of the two views must cede. You could, of course, tell yourself that people are being nice because they feel sorry for you, or that they like you too much to criticise you, or are insincere perhaps because they are fearful that you may make a negative comment when it comes to their appraisal. But why would you choose to make your career in a company where you cannot trust anyone? And if everyone is being positive, maybe, just maybe, it might be you who needs to modify your view.

Start gently, not by saying, ‘I think that I could take over the running of this company, but perhaps by noting, ‘I have always felt inadequate/an impostor, but the consensus is that I am good at my job. Maybe I could learn to soften my self-criticism.’

2) Be aware of your self-talk.

Negative self-talk is invariably destructive to our sense of self. Not only does it make us feel low, but can also have a negative impact on our performance (as explained in the section on attention) and significantly hinder career progression. It is worth asking yourself the question whether your reluctance to apply for promotion or having the experience of being passed over in favour of others, may reflect your negative self-talk rather than your intrinsic ability.

If you recognise that you have a tendency to put yourself down, you need to familiarise yourself with the types of self-talk that damage your wellbeing. Once you are aware that you are a prisoner of your own constant undermining chatter, you can start to monitor yourself, noticing when you slip into old habits. At first, you will probably notice after the event, but with practice, you can learn to catch yourself before you put yourself down. For now, get used to keeping a list of examples when you have caught yourself thinking in a self-deprecating or derogatory manner. If this is difficult to do by yourself, talk to a cognitive therapist.

Remember: none of us were born with the Impostor Phenomenon: we developed it through our experiences. For most women, it has become such a habit that it now seems ‘natural’. Women typically say, ‘I have always been like this: it’s impossible to change.’ Agreed: if you do not want to change, it is not possible! If you do want to feel better – as most of us do – you need to arm yourself with a large helping of self-compassion and then commit to the process of change.

In psychology, your negative ways of thinking would be called ‘cognitive biases’. I tend to refer to them as ‘Unhelpful (un)thinking habits’ – because they have become automatic. Typical unhelpful ways of thinking about the worth of the self might fall into the categories of ‘Inability to Disconfirm’ (your negative view of yourself); ‘Personalising’ ( you taking responsibility for anything in your team/department that does not go perfectly); ‘Overgeneralising’ (e.g. you make a small error and tell yourself that you always knew that you are inferior to others in most fields of your life) and; ‘Judgement’, a tendency to see your life in dichotomous/black and white terms (either you are 100% successful or an abject failure).

Finally, most of us adopt unhelpful ways of thinking and speaking about ourselves when we are tired, stressed, ill, frustrated, or fed-up. These biases become problematic only when they typify our thinking, impact our work and home life in a negative way, and/or trigger psychological distress.

3) Train your Attention

The thesis behind Meta-Cognitive Therapy (created by Professor Adrian Wells at the University of Manchester in the UK) is that emotional and psychological distress arise NOT from an event or a situation, but from the amount of attention we pay it. Wells convincingly argues that whilst we cannot prevent thoughts from intruding into our mind, we can control the attention we give them. Attending to our thoughts leads to negative changes in our emotions and behaviours, as well as to increases in our propensity to worry. We become pessimistic about our future.

The solution is to acknowledge your intrusive thought, memory, or sensation, and then return to the current task. Learning to switch attention does not entail avoidance or distraction or mediation, but simply the capacity to move on. Imagine you are walking and bump into someone whom you do not much like: you are unlikely to run up to the person to advise them of your feelings or even suggest a reconciliation. You simply notice them and keep on with your walk. Seeing your intrusive thought as the person you would rather not have contact with is just the same: you keep on with what you want to do.

If you want to learn more about Cognitive Attentional Training, you can check it out online, and then practise at home.

Finally – try and maintain a perspective.
All of us struggle with our self-worth at times. As the actor Adam Pearson said at the 2025 BAFTAS, ‘The only people who don’t suffer from Impostor Phenomenon are Impostors’.

Dr Nikki Scheiner
February 2025