As a young physio fresh out of finals, I felt it often. During my internship, I felt it almost constantly. Now? It shows up less — but it still knocks on the door from time to time.
Imposter Syndrome.
It’s strange, isn’t it?
You spend three years studying. You survive practical exams, oral exams, written exams. You know your stuff. You treat people, help them move with less pain, guide them through recovery. You keep learning, expanding your skills, attending workshops, sharing ideas with colleagues — you do everything to grow.
Yet sometimes, you catch yourself thinking: Do I really know enough? Am I just pretending? What if someone finds out I’m not as good as they think?
And here’s the paradox I noticed — the more I learned, the more I questioned myself. As if deeper knowledge didn’t bring confidence, but awareness of everything I don’t know.
Plato already put it into words over two thousand years ago:
I know that I know nothing.
So I started to explore why we feel this way — especially those who care, who put in the work, who want to be good at what they do.
Let’s dig in.
What Is Imposter-Syndrome? 🤔
Imposter syndrome is that unsettling feeling of pretending.
People might praise your skills, your empathy, your clinical reasoning, your knowledge — yet internally, you hear a different voice. A quieter, sharper one that whispers: You’re not good enough. You’re fooling them. One day they’ll find out.
Sahil Bloom calls imposter syndrome “the cost of entry for growth.” Everything worth pursuing has a price.
If you want business success, you pay with hard work — hours, effort, mistakes.
If you want physical health, you pay in discipline and consistency.
If you want mastery in any craft, you pay with practice — failure, confusion, repetition.
Growth demands discomfort.
Imposter syndrome is simply the receipt you get at the door.
A research paper by Huecker et al. (2023) described it as:
… self-doubt of intellect, skills, or accomplishments among high-achieving individuals. These individuals cannot internalize their success and subsequently experience pervasive feelings of self-doubt, anxiety, depression, and/or apprehension of being exposed as a fraud in their work, despite verifiable and objective evidence of their successfulness.
The feeling often leads to retreat. To staying small. To hiding inside what feels safe.
But doubt isn’t the enemy — stagnation is.
My dad, a veterinarian for more than 40 years, once told me:
“I doubt myself all the time. That’s how you stay sharp.”
Doubt reminds us that we care.
The key is not to eliminate it — but to move through it.
What Are the Signs of Imposter Syndrome? 🔎
Interestingly, imposter syndrome is not classified as an independent diagnosis in the DSM-V or ICD-10.
Still, it’s a very real psychological pattern many people experience — especially high achievers.
Huecker et al. (2023) describe six characteristics often seen in people with imposter syndrome:
1. The Imposter Cycle 🔄
This usually starts when we face a task, exam, project, or challenge.
The response often falls into two categories:
- Over-preparation: You feel you must work harder than everyone else just to achieve the same result. So you add more hours, more effort, more stress — “just to be safe.”
- Procrastination: You delay getting started because the task feels heavy or overwhelming. And when you finally do it last-minute, you panic and assume “If I were really good, I wouldn’t need to cram like this.”
Either way, once the task is completed, you do feel a short sense of relief or achievement — but it fades quickly. Instead of feeling proud, the inner critic comes back, and the cycle repeats.
Personal Note: During my studies, I could check both boxes. I spent hours “studying” — highlighting and reorganizing notes — while avoiding the truly uncomfortable parts. When I did well, I didn’t think I was capable. I thought, “Good thing I overdid it.”
2. Perfectionism 🎯
People with imposter syndrome often set unrealistically high standards for themselves. One small mistake can feel like proof of incompetence, and feedback turns into fuel for harsh self-criticism instead of growth.
Perfectionism sounds like a positive trait — but it often steals joy and replaces it with pressure.
Personal Note: I’m guilty of this one. I used to aim for perfect notes, perfect highlighting, even perfect handwriting. It looked productive — but often wasn’t. Over time, I learned that messy and imperfect usually means you’re learning, not failing.
3. Super-Heroism 🦸
This is perfectionism and over-preparation combined.
It’s the drive to be the best, to never slip, to always prove you deserve your position. You take on more responsibility than necessary, push harder than you need to, and try to excel at everything.
But constantly operating in “hero mode” is exhausting — and over time, it drains mental health and energy.
Personal Note: I used to love being the superhero — taking extra shifts, leading group projects, helping everyone study. It felt good to be needed. But I often overdid it. Not because it was required — but because proving my worth felt safer than risking being exposed.
4. Atychiphobia (Fear of Failure) 😨
Failure feels dangerous.
Not because of the result itself — but because it might prove what you secretly fear:
“That I’m not good enough.”
This fear can show up as anxiety, avoidance, or stress around tasks where performance is visible or measurable.
Personal Note: I avoided many great opportunities because I was afraid to fail. Back then, failure felt like proof that I wasn’t good enough. A misinterpreted question or an exercise I couldn’t finish wasn’t just feedback — it confirmed my worst fears and kept me stuck in a fixed mindset.
5. Denial of Competence and Capability 🙅
Even when you succeed, you find ways to downplay it:
- “I was just lucky.”
- “Anyone could’ve done it.”
- “They probably expected less.”
Instead of internalizing your achievements, you attribute them to chance, support from others, or favorable circumstances — while seeing failures as personal flaws.
Personal Note: I’ve definitely used those phrases before. Instead of giving myself an internal high five after an exam or project, I downplayed it. I’d say, “I didn’t even learn that much,” or “I’m not that good” — even though I had worked incredibly hard for it.
6. Achievemephobia (Fear of Success) 🏆
This one sounds counterintuitive — why would someone fear success?
Because success brings expectations. What if you can’t maintain the standard next time? What if saying “yes” now means more responsibility later?
People who experience this often accept failure more easily than success — because failure matches their internal beliefs, while success feels like an accident.
Personal Note: This one still challenges me. I sometimes struggle to fully accept success because it raises the bar. A part of me worries: What if I can’t keep up next time? Gratitude and journaling help — but that quiet fear of not maintaining the standard still lingers in the background.
If you struggle too, don’t worry — I’ve got you covered in Tip #3.
Seeing yourself in some of these traits doesn’t automatically mean you have imposter syndrome — and you don’t need to check all six boxes to struggle with it.
If these patterns feel familiar and they’re affecting your wellbeing, confidence, or daily life, please take it seriously. Talking to a therapist, counselor, or other mental health professional can make a huge difference.
Why High Achievers Feel It More 📈
Because imposter syndrome isn’t an official diagnosis, it’s difficult to measure exactly how common it is. Still, research shows clear patterns — and one of them is striking:
High achievers feel imposter syndrome more than anyone else.
It appears more frequently in women than in men, and it’s also common in marginalized groups such as people of color and minority communities. But one field where imposter syndrome really stands out is healthcare.
- A pilot study from Villwock et al. (2016) found that nearly 25% of male medical students and almost 50% of female medical students experienced imposter syndrome. Because imposter feelings are linked to burnout, the authors warned that it shouldn’t be taken lightly.
- In Bhama et al. (2021), 76% of medical residents reported significant or severe imposter syndrome.
- Hernandez & Lopez (2023) found that 76% of dietitians experienced moderate imposter syndrome — especially those with less than five years of experience.
- More than 80% of dental undergraduates reported moderate to severe imposter symptoms. Awinashe et al. (2023) highlighted risk for both physical and mental effects, recommending curriculum adjustments and personal development strategies to support students.
- In Sullivan & Ryba (2020), 60% of pharmacy residents showed imposter tendencies — with even higher prevalence in those who worked more than 80 hours per week compared to <60 hours.
Different professions, similar story:
Ambitious, educated, hardworking people doubt themselves the most.
And isn’t that ironic?
The ones who are capable don’t feel like they are.
The ones who study, learn, push themselves, and care deeply… are the same who fear they’re not enough.
Imposter syndrome feeds on overthinking — the constant loop of “What if I’m not good enough?” or “What if they realize I’m not as smart as they think?”
It’s often reinforced by a fixed mindset: avoiding challenges to protect your image, striving to be perfect instead of progressing, and tying your self-worth to appearing competent rather than learning.
Because of that, strategies that reduce overthinking can be powerful tools: journaling, meditation, externalizing thoughts, awareness training — anything that helps you separate who you are from what your mind tells you.
Nick Trenton offers great techniques in his book Stop Overthinking, with simple, actionable tools that genuinely help quiet the noise. I tested some of them myself — and they work.
But I also discovered a few things that helped me personally.
And I want to share them with you.
3 Mindset Shifts to Stop Feeling Like an Imposter 🧠
Imposter syndrome can make even the most capable people doubt themselves. It’s not about lacking skill — it’s about the stories we tell ourselves, the comparisons we make, and the patterns our minds fall into.
Here are three mindset shifts that helped me, and that I’ve seen work for others, to stop letting imposter feelings define your worth.
Tip #1: Compare Yourself With You 🪞
I once watched a powerful TED Talk by Knatokie Ford — and her story stuck with me.
She checked many boxes commonly linked to imposter syndrome: woman, person of color, entering elite academic spaces. After moving from a historically Black college in Atlanta to Harvard Medical School, her confidence began to crumble. She was often the only African American woman in the room, and she feared others might assume she wasn’t good enough for the sciences — simply because of how she looked.
The pressure became so overwhelming that she dropped out after one semester.
Defeated — for now.
A year later, she returned. This time, not just to succeed for herself, but to be someone others could look at and think:
“If she made it, maybe I can too.”
Just before graduation, she received a piece of advice that changed everything for her — and for me, too:
You have to get out of this habit of comparing yourself to other people. The only person that you should compare yourself to is you. If you can look at where you are today, versus where you were six month or a year ago, and if you can see progress, that’s all that matters, that’s what success is.
The only competition that truly matters is the person you were yesterday.
Not your classmates. Not colleagues. Not the physio who posts flawless results on Instagram.
Just you.
Every step forward counts — even if no one sees it but you.
Tip #2: Fake It Until You Make It 🎭
We had a lecturer — the assistant leader of our program — who never talked at us, but with us. He carried the calm confidence of someone who has seen enough mistakes to guide others through them. When you approached him with worries about internships, exams, or simply feeling lost, he always made time. He listened. He answered with kindness, respect, and the honesty only experience can give.
Every conversation with him left you a little lighter. A little braver.
At least that’s how it was for me.
He shaped my confidence so much that after graduation, I reached out to thank him — something I had never done before. I told him how his presence, his attitude, and his humanity gave me courage as a young physio. Sometimes people influence us deeply without ever knowing — so I wanted him to know.
During one of our internship debriefings, we opened up to him about imposter syndrome.
We felt unqualified, inexperienced, insecure.
Yes — we worked with supervision, but not always. Sometimes it was just us and the patient, and that felt terrifying.
He smiled and said something that stuck with me (roughly):
I felt exactly the same in my first years. Everyone does. It’s normal. It means you care
He never pretended to be the all-knowing professor — and trust me, I met plenty who did. He admitted openly that he also forgets things after lectures, that supervisors don’t expect perfection, and that no one knows everything all the time.
And then came the line I still hear in my head today:
If you feel like you’re not confident enough — fake it. Chances are you already know more than your patient. Use that.
Not fake knowledge. Not fake results.
Just borrow confidence from your future self until you grow into it.
Sometimes showing up like the person you want to be is the first step to becoming them.
Tip #3: Notice the Patterns — Then Break Them 🕵️
Dr. K. published an insightful video about imposter syndrome, highlighting three common thinking patterns — and how to disrupt them. Here’s a breakdown:
Pattern #1: You don’t credit yourself for your success.
People with imposter syndrome often explain success with external factors:
“I only passed because of luck.” or “I got promoted because my boss likes me.”
🚀 Solution: Trace your success back to your actions. Ask yourself:
- What did I do to make this happen?
- What effort, preparation, or skill did I contribute?
For example:
“I passed the test because I studied consistently and made detailed notes.”
“I got promoted because I consistently met deadlines and delivered results.”
Pattern #2: You assume others succeed purely from hard work.
People with imposter syndrome often create a double standard in their thinking. While they discount their own achievements, they assume that others succeed purely because of their hard work or skill.
For example: “She got promoted because she worked hard.” or “He passed the test because he studied a lot.”
The reality? Luck, timing, and external support play a role for everyone — including your colleagues. Recognizing this helps you view your own successes more fairly.
🚀 Solution: Use the same thought you applied to yourself in Pattern #1. Ask yourself:
- What advantages did my colleagues or peers have?
- Were they just lucky in the test, or were they promoted because the boss liked them?
Turn the tables — and give yourself the same fair consideration.
Pattern #3: You depend on external validation.
People with imposter syndrome often seek constant confirmation — from bosses, peers, or family — and measure their worth by others’ approval. Success feels fragile if not recognized externally.
🚀 Solution: Build internal recognition. Ask yourself:
- What am I proud of today?
- What went well that I notice and value?
Example: If you cooked for your family, instead of asking for praise, acknowledge what went right: “I tried a new recipe and it worked. Even with complications, I made something delicious.” Celebrate your effort and outcomes without relying on outside approval.
The key across all three patterns? Awareness and reflection. Once you notice these mental habits, you can start to dismantle them.
Bonus Tip: Embrace the “Yet” Mindset 🌱
This is something I learned from my mother. Whenever I said, “I’m not capable of this” or “I don’t know how to do that”, she always added a single word: “yet.”
It’s simple, but powerful. Whenever you catch yourself thinking:
- “I’m not good enough” → “I’m not good enough… yet.”
- “I don’t know how to do it” → “I don’t know how to do it… yet.”
- “I don’t think I’m capable of that” → “I don’t think I’m capable of that… yet.”
“Yet” is a reminder that your current limitations are temporary. It signals growth, learning, and dedication. It shows that you are more capable than you might think — you just haven’t reached that point… yet.
Being an imposter isn’t inherently bad. In fact, it’s often the cost of entry for growth — a sign that you’re pushing yourself beyond comfort and into new territory. The key is not to let it overwhelm you. With these strategies, and the power of “yet,” you can acknowledge doubt without letting it stop you.
📝 Key takeaways
- Imposter syndrome is normal, especially for high achievers — feeling like a fraud doesn’t mean you’re not capable.
- Compare yourself with yourself, not others — growth is measured by your progress, not someone else’s.
- Fake it until you make it — confidence often comes first through action, not feeling ready.
- Notice unhelpful thought patterns — track how you undervalue yourself, overvalue others, or seek constant approval.
- Break the double standards — give yourself the same credit you assume others deserve.
- Build internal validation — focus on what you’re proud of, not on what others think.
- Embrace the “yet” mindset — “I can’t… yet” turns doubt into growth.
Thanks for spending this time with me. Keep exploring, stay open to new ideas, and remember—growth is a journey, not a destination.
Take care,
Carina 🦊