Courtesy of wikipedia.... pretty spot on except I"m not feeling exceptionally "successful" at the moment... but I guess that's all relative
😛
The
Impostor Syndrome, sometimes called
Impostor Phenomenon or
Fraud Syndrome, is a
syndrome where sufferers are unable to internalize their accomplishments. It is not an officially recognized
psychological disorder but has been the subject of numerous books and articles by
psychologists and educators.
Regardless of what level of success they may have achieved in their chosen field of work or study or what external proof they may have of their competence, those with the syndrome remain convinced internally they do not deserve the success they have achieved and are actually frauds. Proof of success is dismissed as luck, timing, or as a result of deceiving others into thinking they were more
intelligent and competent than they believe themselves to be.
This syndrome was thought to be particularly common among
women who are successful in their given
careers, but has since been shown to occur for an equal number of men.
[1] It is typically associated with academics and is widely found amongst
graduate students.