Imposter Syndrome, Women & STEM

Feeling anxiety and a lack of confidence at work or in college is fairly common. You may feel you have gotten in over your head with a new project and feel uneasy under the expectant eyes of the boss and team. But feeling like you are a fraud or an imposter is different from having self-doubt. This experience is called imposter syndrome.

What is Imposter Syndrome?
An impostor is someone whose identity is greater than their capabilities. They are pretending to be better than they are. Impostor syndrome is when your capability is greater than your identity; in other words, you are better than you think you are. Imposter syndrome is a cognitive distortion leading to constant anxiety from the worry of being discovered a fraud. This distorted perception causes chronic anxiety, insecurity, stress, dread, and fear of failure, and holds people back from participating more fully in their lives. While men and women and people from all backgrounds may experience imposter syndrome, in my therapy practice, it shows up among women in STEM careers.

Some Symptoms of Imposter Syndrome

• Self-doubt and dismissing your own competence and intelligence
• Perfectionism - overachieving and overpreparing to overcome perceived deficiencies
• Lack of pride in own success, undervaluing accomplishments and deflecting praise, attributing to external factors
• Sabotaging your own work for fear of success to avoid higher expectations
• Fear of not living up to expectations, disappointing others (people pleasing), and being shamed
• Burnout from pushing yourself too hard to overcome self-doubt and perceived incompetence
• Usually shows up in STEM fields such as engineering and computing

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