Dealing With Chronic Self-Doubt? Understand Your ‘Imposter’ Type
Photo by Daniel K Cheung via Unsplash
Success not tasting so sweet? You might be dealing with imposter syndrome – the deep feeling of chronic inadequacy regardless of your accomplishments. At the very least, these feelings tend to take away from the joy you should feel about your successes; at worst, this can contribute to burnout, anxiety, and depression.
Imposter syndrome – or more accurately, imposter phenomenon (since there is no formal diagnosis as a condition) – was first identified by psychologists Suzanna Imes and Pauline Rose Clance in the late 1970s, defined as “an internal experience of intellectual phoniness.” In their landmark study, they found that high-achieving women believed that they were “fooling” their peers into believing that they were “bright” and “worthy” of the positions they held, despite their objective achievements.
Women and BIPOC individuals are more likely to experience imposter phenomenon at higher rates than whites and males. Marginalized populations who experience prejudice often don’t see themselves represented in these positions of success, and therefore may not feel as comfortable owning it. It’s also important to note that there’s a difference between experiencing impostor phenomenon (which is something you just perceive about yourself) and actually experiencing systemic racism or other barriers that may be working against you.
Research suggests that the imposter phenomenon may begin in college, affecting up to 20% of students, at a time when there’s a bigger emphasis placed on achievement. After college, that number jumps to as high as 80% of people. Tackling these feelings at the beginning, often in college, can make a huge difference before harmful thought patterns set in too deeply.
Confronting imposter phenomenon starts with recognizing your imposter type, which can help you label and better understand your inner critic — and then actually do something about it.
6 Types of Imposters
Imposter phenomenon expert, Dr. Valerie Young, categorized the five imposter subtypes: The Expert, The Natural Genius, The Perfectionist, The Soloist, and The Superhuman. In our therapeutic work, we’ve found that some people resort to humor to hide themselves; we’ve coined this type The Comedian.
Whether you find yourself in one of these subtypes, or in multiple, the ability to name something gives you the power to talk about it.
The Soloist
At Their Core: The Soloist assumes that asking for help makes them an imposter, unable to achieve their success on their own. Any support shows signs of weakness so they resort to a do-it-themselves attitude.
The Impact: This hyper-independent imposter type can experience deep feelings of isolation and loneliness. Because they’re so adamant on doing everything themselves, they often bite off more than they can chew. The Soloist resorts to taking on the entire group project themselves and rarely taps in other group members for help.
Common Traits: Burnout; difficulty asking for help; questioning self-worth if help is received; loneliness.
The Expert
At Their Core: The Expert feels they need to have every answer. They measure their competence based on how much they know. Feelings of fraudulence will inevitably creep in since no one will ever know everything.
The Impact: Despite being extremely knowledgeable in their field, when the Expert experiences a minor lack of knowledge, they feel significant shame and impostorism. Getting a question wrong in front of the class causes the Expert to internalize their “failure” as inadequacy.
Common Traits: Low self-esteem; excessive attempts to learn new information or be the best; worry about underachieving; fear of not knowing.
The Perfectionist
At Their Core: The Perfectionist is wrapped up in, you guessed it, perfectionism! They believe that if they haven’t completed a task perfectly, they’ve failed entirely. The Perfectionist can get so wrapped up in getting the details right that they miss out on the big picture.
The Impact: Unfortunately these high (and unrealistic) expectations come at a cost. Inadequacy and defeat are among the most common feelings of the Perfectionist because their standards are often unattainable. As a result, the Perfectionist will turn in the term paper late or spend all of their time ensuring their slides are absolutely flawless. Because their work never feels entirely perfect, success always seems out of reach.
Common Traits: Procrastination; all-or-nothing thinking; burnout; high standards.
The Natural Genius
At Their Core: The Natural Genius may have been at the top of their class in high school without putting in too much effort or facing many obstacles. Compliments were based on their natural abilities and intelligence, and success was measured in ranks, grades, and GPAs.
The Impact: As the Natural Genius experiences challenges, they question their own intelligence and abilities because they’ve usually accomplished everything with ease and speed. As a result, the Natural Genius will take courses and pursue degrees that come easy to them, shying away from anything out of their comfort zone.
Common Traits: Avoiding tasks that require effort; averse to taking risks or trying something new; low self-esteem; fearing people will “find out” they aren’t intelligent.
The Superhuman
At Their Core: The Superhuman measures their competence on how many roles they can juggle with ease and excellence. The Superhuman’s motivation lies in their want to do it all and results in people-pleasing tendencies. They believe that you must be the hardest worker and reach the highest levels of achievement possible, otherwise they feel like a failure.
The Impact: This type may feel that they need to “earn” recognition to keep people from thinking they’re incompetent. Like the Soloist, the Superhuman will probably take on the group project themselves to fulfill their need to do it all, but their ownership of the project will lead to feelings of resentment.
Common Traits: Setting unachievable and unrealistic goals; burnout; low self-esteem; difficulty resting; people pleasing.
The Comedian
At Their Core: Although not identified as a subtype of imposter phenomenon by Dr. Young, we’ve recognized what we call the Comedian in some of our clients. The Comedian is the entertainer, whether it’s with friends, at work, or in classes. They learned from a young age that if they distract themselves and others from more serious topics, they avoid the risk of people thinking they aren’t good enough or don’t know what they’re doing.
The Impact: The Comedian believes that only their humor has hidden their inabilities where they’re able to trick others into thinking they're something they're not. When other people begin seeing them as the “funny one,” though, they feel as if they’re taken less seriously and their ideas aren’t as important as others. When asked a question in class, the Comedian defaults to joking rather than risking getting the question wrong.
Common Traits: Difficulty talking about serious topics without joking; people pleasing; self-deprecation; self-doubt.
Do any of these imposter types sound familiar? If so, you’re definitely not alone, and you’ve also taken the first and most important step of naming the problem. There’s power in that.
Next, try identifying these tendencies in your daily life and catch yourself before defaulting to imposter thinking. Instead there are a number of coping skills to improve your mindset, and finally allow you to enjoy your well-earned successes.
Want to confront your imposter syndrome with the support of a therapist? Octave has over 1,000 therapists who have been carefully selected to meet your mental health needs.