Imposter Syndrome, a newer buzzword to enter our cultural vocabulary, is the psychological phenomenon that results in the disbelief that you are as skilled or adept as others perceive you to be, often in a professional space. Imposter Syndrome persists despite any accolades or positive reinforcement you’ve received about your abilities. This kind of extreme self-doubt is estimated to affect at least 70% of people at some point in their life. Additionally, it often presents in different ways depending on what kind of person you are. 

In fact, there are five distinct types of Imposter Syndrome, all with varying reasons for the insecurity. Everything from your personality traits to your family background can affect how likely you will experience the phenomenon and what type you feel. You could indeed be set up to fall prey to one or multiple types of Imposter Syndrome, and the more you know about them, the better you can separate the facts from these intrusive thoughts. 

What are the five types of Imposter Syndrome?

1. The Perfectionist

The perfectionist type is just as it sounds. These are the people that receive an A- and feel like they’ve failed. Their major self-doubt comes from setting unrealistically high standards for themselves and then questioning their abilities if they can’t meet them.

Common Identifiers: Micromanager, trouble with delegating, and thinking of minor flaws as utter failures.

 
2. The Natural Genius

This type is accustomed to new skills coming easily to them. They use the speed and efficiency they can complete a task as their primary metric for success. If they can’t master something on the first go, they feel shame.

Common Identifiers: Avoids challenges if they think they might fail, often referred to as “the smart one” throughout life, especially in childhood, and faces setbacks in confidence from anything they don’t have a natural hand at.

3. The Superwoman/Man

The Superperson is the type of individual that forces themselves to work twice as hard as their peers. They feel they don’t quite measure up to their colleagues and must dedicate even more time and energy to their job to stay on par. This type will always feel like they haven’t quite earned their success, despite their extensive workload.

 Common Identifiers: Stays at the office later than anyone else, finds downtime to be stressful when they could be working, puts work ahead of hobbies and relationships.

4. The Expert

The expert measures their success by how much they know or can do. Their insecurities surround anything they lack knowledge in because they expect themselves to know everything.

Common Identifiers: Constantly takes courses because they feel like they need to learn more, thinks they “don’t know enough” no matter how long they’ve been doing a job.

5. The Soloist

This person feels that asking for help reveals their secret incompetence. They would rather spend long hours trying to figure it out for themselves than have to depend on someone else to do their job.

Common Identifiers: Chooses to work on their own, determines success their ability to complete a project with no help, has trouble verbalizing personal needs.

How do you stop experiencing Imposter Syndrome?

While there is no precise method for ridding yourself of that fraud-like feeling, Therapist Nicola Thompson does offer these tips:

1. Think about something that has gone well, this week, this month, this year

2. Accept a compliment without questioning it or brushing it off

3. Make a list of your achievements and skills, anything you are proud of

4. Try a new challenge that feels manageable, no matter how small

5. Accept an offer of help without thinking you could do it better yourself