Imposter Syndrome: Why You Feel Like a Fraud and How to Finally Stop

Do you ever find yourself sitting in a meeting, convinced that everyone around you is about to realise you don’t actually know what you’re doing? Or perhaps you’ve just landed a promotion, been given a new responsibility, or achieved something you’ve worked incredibly hard for — and instead of feeling proud, you feel quietly terrified that you’re going to be “found out”?

If any of that sounds familiar, you are most definitely not alone. What you’re experiencing has a name — imposter syndrome — and it affects millions of people across every walk of life, every profession, and every age group. In fact, some of the most successful, accomplished people in the world have spoken openly about feeling exactly this way.

The good news? Imposter syndrome is not a life sentence. With the right support and tools, it is absolutely possible to silence that inner critic, step into your own worth, and start owning everything you have worked so hard to achieve.

What Is Imposter Syndrome? Signs, Symptoms and Why It Happens

Imposter syndrome is the persistent feeling that you are not as capable, intelligent or deserving as other people perceive you to be. It’s that nagging inner voice that whispers “you just got lucky,” “you don’t really deserve this,” or “it’s only a matter of time before everyone realises you’re out of your depth.”

Despite clear evidence of their competence — qualifications, achievements, experience, positive feedback — people with imposter syndrome struggle to internalise their own success. They tend to attribute their accomplishments to luck, timing or other external factors rather than to their own ability and hard work.

The term was first coined in 1978 by psychologists Dr Pauline Clance and Dr Suzanne Imes, who initially observed the phenomenon in high-achieving women. However, subsequent research has shown that imposter syndrome affects people of all genders, ages, backgrounds and professions in roughly equal measure. Studies suggest that around 70% of people will experience imposter syndrome at some point in their lives — so if this resonates with you, you are in very good company.

What Does Imposter Syndrome Actually Feel Like?

Imposter syndrome can show up in lots of different ways and can vary quite significantly from person to person. Some of the most common experiences include:

Feeling like a fraud. A persistent sense that you don’t really belong in the role, position or situation you’re in — despite all the evidence to the contrary.

Attributing success to luck. Struggling to take credit for your own achievements. You passed that exam, got that job, or landed that client not because of your skill or hard work, but because you “got lucky” or “caught someone on a good day.”

Fear of being found out. An underlying anxiety that at some point, someone is going to realise you’re not as capable as they thought — and that everything will come crashing down.

Downplaying your achievements. Brushing off compliments, minimising your accomplishments, or feeling deeply uncomfortable when people praise your work.

Overworking to compensate. Working harder and longer than necessary in an attempt to keep up the appearance of competence — and to stay one step ahead of being “exposed.”

Avoiding new challenges. Turning down opportunities, promotions or new experiences because deep down you don’t believe you are capable of handling them.

Comparing yourself constantly to others. Feeling that everyone else has it together and knows exactly what they’re doing — while you’re the only one quietly winging it.

Does any of this feel uncomfortably familiar? Then read on.

Who Gets Imposter Syndrome? (It's More Common Than You Think)

The short answer is: absolutely anyone.

Imposter syndrome does not discriminate. It affects CEOs, new employees and seasoned professionals, people at the very start of their careers and those with decades of experience behind them. It shows up in creative industries, corporate boardrooms, healthcare, education, sport and the arts.

It can be triggered by starting a new job, receiving a promotion, beginning a new relationship, starting a business, becoming a parent, moving to a new area, or simply finding yourself in an unfamiliar situation where you feel out of your depth.

Interestingly, imposter syndrome often intensifies the more successful a person becomes. As responsibilities grow and the stakes get higher, the fear of being found out can actually increase rather than diminish. This is one of the cruellest aspects of imposter syndrome — it has a habit of growing alongside you.

What Causes Imposter Syndrome? The Subconscious Root

This is where it gets really interesting — and where understanding the root cause can be genuinely transformative.

Imposter syndrome is not a personality flaw. It is not a sign that you are weak, unstable or incapable. It is, at its heart, a belief problem. Specifically, it is the result of deeply held subconscious beliefs about your own worth, your value, and how you are perceived by the world around you.

Here is the thing about beliefs: we don’t choose them consciously. Our subconscious beliefs — the ones that quietly drive our thoughts, feelings and behaviours every single day — are formed through our experiences. Sometimes a belief is formed in a single significant moment; a time when someone said something cutting, when we failed at something important, or when we were made to feel small or not good enough.

Beliefs are also formed through what I think of as a drip feed — a slow, steady accumulation of messages, experiences and interactions over time. Perhaps you grew up in a household where praise was rare and criticism was common or a sibling consistently achieved more than you. Perhaps a teacher always overlooked you, or a manager took credit for your work. Perhaps you were told — directly or indirectly, repeatedly over the years — that you weren’t clever enough, talented enough, or deserving enough.

Over time, those negative experiences or messages seep into the subconscious mind and solidify into beliefs. And once a belief takes hold at a subconscious level, it becomes the lens through which you see yourself and the world. It shapes what you think, how you feel, and how you behave — often without you even realising it is happening.

So when you walk into that meeting and feel like a fraud, it is not because you actually are one. It is because somewhere along the line, your subconscious mind formed a belief that you are not enough — and it has been quietly running that programme ever since.

The brilliant thing about understanding this is that it points directly to the solution. If imposter syndrome is rooted in subconscious belief, then changing those beliefs at a subconscious level is the key to lasting, genuine change.

Why Positive Thinking Alone Doesn’t Work

If you’ve ever tried to overcome imposter syndrome by simply telling yourself to “think more positively” or repeating affirmations in the mirror, you’ll probably know that it doesn’t really work — at least not in any deep or lasting way.

This is because positive thinking operates at a conscious level, while imposter syndrome lives in the subconscious. You can tell yourself “I am confident and capable” as many times as you like, but if your subconscious mind holds a contradictory belief — “I am a fraud who doesn’t deserve to be here” — the subconscious will win every time. It is simply far more powerful than the conscious mind.

This is why so many people feel stuck. They know, logically and rationally, that they are good at what they do. They can list their qualifications, their achievements, their experience. But knowing something intellectually and truly believing it at a deeper level are two very different things — and it is that deeper level that needs to shift.

How Hypnotherapy and PSYCH-K Can Help You Overcome Imposter Syndrome

As a Cognitive Hypnotherapist, NLP practitioner and PSYCH-K facilitator, working with imposter syndrome is something I feel genuinely passionate about. I have seen first-hand how profoundly it can hold people back — and how life-changing it can be when those old, limiting beliefs are finally released and replaced with something far more empowering.

My approach works directly with the subconscious mind, which is precisely where imposter syndrome lives. Rather than just talking about the problem at a surface level, we go to the root — exploring and gently reframing the beliefs, experiences and messages that created those imposter feelings in the first place.

Here is a little of what that process can involve:

Exploring the root beliefs. Together, we look at what you actually believe about yourself — your worth, your value, your capabilities, and how you think others perceive you. Often, clients are surprised to discover just how deeply held some of these beliefs are, and how far back they go.

Reframing past experiences. Sometimes imposter syndrome can be traced back to specific moments — a previous job where things went wrong, a critical authority figure, or a time when your confidence took a real knock. Using hypnotherapy and NLP, we can revisit and reframe those experiences so that they no longer hold the same emotional charge or continue to define how you see yourself today.

Working with the subconscious directly. Hypnotherapy allows us to bypass the critical, analytical conscious mind and work directly with the subconscious — the part of the mind where beliefs are stored and where real, lasting change happens. PSYCH-K works in a similarly powerful way, using specific protocols to identify limiting subconscious beliefs and replace them with new, empowering ones.

Creating new beliefs by changing your perception of past events. Sometimes the beliefs that fuel imposter syndrome are anchored to specific memories — a failure, a mistake, embarrassing feedback, being judged negatively or bullied.

Left unaddressed, these painful memories quietly reinforce the idea that you are not good enough and you should avoid doing what you are doing, to prevent further shock and hurt.

Using PSYCH-K, we can work directly with the subconscious mind to shift how it perceives those memories, so that what once felt distressing can instead be held with a sense of peace and acceptance. This is not about erasing the past or pretending things did not happen — it is about releasing the emotional charge those memories carry.  The process itself is remarkably quick, often taking just a couple of minutes, and many clients describe the experience as genuinely liberating and transformative.

Building a genuinely new self-image. Ultimately, overcoming imposter syndrome is about building a new relationship with yourself — one rooted in an authentic sense of your own value and capability. It is about seeing yourself clearly and accurately, without the distortion of old, outdated beliefs that were formed by other people’s words, actions or opinions — often a very long time ago.

Most clients find that significant shifts begin to happen within just a few sessions. In most cases, people notice real, meaningful change in a few sessions — which, when you consider how long imposter syndrome may have been quietly running in the background of someone’s life, is quite remarkable.

Life Without Imposter Syndrome: What Becomes Possible

Imagine walking into that meeting and actually feeling like you belong there and have something to say that others want to hear. Imagine receiving a compliment and being able to simply say “thank you” — and genuinely mean it. Imagine going for that promotion, taking on that new challenge, or launching that project without the constant background noise of self-doubt and fear.

Imagine trusting yourself. Knowing your own worth. Showing up fully, confidently and authentically — not because you’ve forced yourself to “think positive,” but because you genuinely believe, at the deepest level, that you are capable and deserving.

That is what becomes possible when the subconscious beliefs driving imposter syndrome are identified and changed. And that is exactly what we work towards together.

Imposter Syndrome Therapy in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire

Imposter syndrome can feel incredibly isolating — like you’re the only one carrying this secret weight while everyone else breezes confidently through life. But as we’ve explored throughout this article, it is one of the most common human experiences there is. It is not a reflection of your true capability, your intelligence, or your worth. It is simply a set of beliefs that were formed a long time ago, in response to experiences that shaped how you came to see yourself.

And beliefs, thankfully, can be changed.

If you are ready to stop feeling like a fraud and start stepping fully into your own potential, I would love to help. I work with clients both online and in person, so wherever you are in the UK (or beyond!), we can work together at a time and in a way that suits you.

Getting in touch is completely free and there is no pressure whatsoever. Simply click here to contact me and find out more about how I work and to get in touch.

You have worked hard to get where you are. It is time to start believing it.