You have successes under your belt, people praise you, yet you still feel like an impostor who will soon be exposed? This is impostor syndrome. It's not a mental illness, but a thought pattern that affects over 70% of people, especially ambitious and intelligent ones.
"I Don't Deserve This" - Why Do You Think That?
People with impostor syndrome tend to attribute successes to external factors ("I got lucky," "it just happened") and failures to themselves ("I'm useless"). Every success, instead of building confidence, increases the fear of being exposed.
Scientific Sources:
- Clance, P. R., & Imes, S. A. (1978). "The imposter phenomenon in high achieving women: Dynamics and therapeutic intervention".
