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Do You Suffer from Imposter Syndrome? Take This Quiz

April 12, 2024

Do you feel like you’re faking it through life – winging it more than others and barely hiding the chaos? Do you feel like you’ve tricked everyone into thinking that you’re a competent, intelligent person? Do you worry that you’ll be exposed someday? If so, you may be experiencing imposter syndrome.

“Someone with imposter syndrome feels like a fraud or a phony,” writes Sharon Saline, Psy.D. “You doubt your abilities and successes, believing that your mistakes and moments of imperfection are proof that you’re not an intelligent person.”

According to Saline, imposter syndrome, rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD), social anxiety, and perfectionism – all common among individuals with ADHD – can be traced back to one thing: a core belief of deficiency.

Answer these questions to see whether you show signs of imposter syndrome, and to what degree. Find more resources on imposter syndrome at the end of this self-test.

The questions in this resource were informed, in part, from the ADDitude article titled “You Are Enough: How to Counteract Imposter Syndrome, Perfectionism, and RSD” by Sharon Saline, Psy.D., and from research literature on imposter syndrome. 1 2

I often feel like a fraud, as if I’m not who people think I am.






I fear that others will figure out that I’m masquerading as a competent, capable person.






It’s hard to accept praise, compliments, and positive feedback.






If I’d had any success in life, it’s been out of sheer luck, not my skills, talents, or strengths.






When I receive a compliment, the voice inside my head says things like, ‘If only they really knew how I am.’






I tend to fixate on mistakes and brush off moments of success.






I often compare my intelligence, abilities, levels of productivity, and other aspects of myself to others around me.






My mistakes and imperfections are proof that I’m not an intelligent, capable person.






I struggle greatly with procrastination when I fear that I won’t do a task well.






I view struggling with a task – even if I eventually complete it – as proof that I’m not really competent.






I spend a lot of time and energy preparing for tasks to avoid being seen as incapable.






When I do something well, I worry that I won’t be able to do it again and that I’ve set unrealistic expectations.






(Optional) Would you like to receive your symptom test results — plus more helpful resources — via email from ADDitude?







Can’t see the self-test questions above? Click here to open this test in a new window.

Imposter Syndrome: Next Steps

Sources

1 Huecker MR, Shreffler J, McKeny PT, et al. Imposter Phenomenon. [Updated 2023 Jul 31]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585058/

2 Chandra, S., Huebert, C. A., Crowley, E., & Das, A. M. (2019). Impostor Syndrome: Could It Be Holding You or Your Mentees Back?. Chest, 156(1), 26–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chest.2019.02.325

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