Impostor Syndrome: What It Is and How to Recognise It

Impostor syndrome is not a clinical diagnosis in the strict sense, but a psychological state in which a person lives with the conviction that they are a fraud — that their successes are accidental and exposure is only a matter of time. Dr. Saulitis describes it as a low-level background paranoia: someone may appear confident on the surface while carrying constant inner tension.

Where It Comes From

The roots lie in childhood and cultural conditioning. When a child repeatedly hears "don't touch it, you'll break it," "you're no good at this," or "who gave you permission?" — a lasting belief takes hold: *I'm not good enough, and any success I have is just luck.* Social standards pile on top: how you look, what you've achieved, what others will say. These expectations function as a permanent internal examiner.

What It Feels Like Inside

Internally, a person with impostor syndrome carries chronic anxiety and a nagging sense that they will soon be "found out." They attribute successes to luck or circumstance and failures to their "true" inadequacy. Doubt persists even in the face of clear achievement.

How to Recognise It from the Outside

Paradoxically, from the outside such a person often comes across as overly correct and excessively demanding — of themselves and others. Rigidity, over-control, constant hedging and pre-emptive excuses ("if it doesn't work out, it's because…") are all ways of explaining away potential failure before it happens, without acknowledging the underlying fear. The outward show of toughness is not genuine confidence — it is a performance of it.

An Important Distinction

Dr. Saulitis is clear: this is a psychological, not a psychotic, phenomenon. It is not delusion or psychosis — it is a soft but entrenched pattern of thinking that builds over years and calls for understanding, not labels.