Imposter Syndrome Archetypes

imposter syndrome

So, you're feeling overwhelmed because of imposter syndrome? Impostors are people who feel fraudulent and unearned at any moment. They often have an internal fear that others will know their success was fake or undeserved--which makes them want to hide it even more than before!

Psychologist June Shapiro, Ph.D., notes that imposter syndrome is thought to be a close relative of GAD (generalized anxiety disorder).

Imposter syndrome can be a slippery, uncomfortable thing to deal with. But don't worry! Once you identify it you can work on overcoming it.

There are five major ways that imposter syndrome appears:

The Natural Genius:

The natural genius is someone who measures their worth based on how easily something comes to them. If they are able to accomplish tasks or remember pieces of information without much work, then that boosts self-esteem in general but if it's harder for people like this group because their confidence takes a hit if they have to put in a lot of effort.

The Perfectionist:

Perfectionists can make life a living hell for themselves. They worry they'll never be good enough and their anxiety about not achieving perfection in any given task creates overwhelming feelings of self-doubt that then hinder their ability/desire to do anything at all, including approaching tasks with enthusiasm.

The Expert:

This is a person who judges their worth based upon how much knowledge they possess. There's always this need to prove themselves by highlighting all of the information you know and can teach others, but despite your intellect, there will be an internal struggle with feelings like "I'm not smart enough" which only makes it even harder for them get exposed as unknowledgeable.

The Soloist:

This is a person who is hyper-independent and feels the need to do everything by themselves. When they’re forced to ask for help or assistance they feel completely incompetent.

The Superhero:

The superhero feels fraudulent, in their relationships or at work (or both), and makes every effort to mask this perceived inadequacy. This tends to lead a person to feel as if they need to be perfect for everyone else but themselves which can cause extreme stress levels because of the fear that comes with not measuring up; leading them down an unhealthy path health-wise.