It was the summer of 2018, when I first infiltrated the prestigious halls of the University of Witwatersrand, and I’ve been lurking there ever since. Of course, I didn’t do it alone; I had a team working with me – a real skeleton crew consisting of my mother and baby brother. After all our adventures together, I don’t just think of them as my crew, I think of them as family. With their help, I successfully registered as a student at Wits University, got my grubby hands on two degrees, and no one was the wiser. You see, dear reader, I’ve been deceiving you and everyone around me for years. I know you think I’m a dashingly handsome, stunningly intelligent young man, but I am in truth, a dashingly handsome, incompetent, bumbling fool who has cunningly risen through the university ranks. I don’t deserve my position; I don’t know how I did it, but I know I conned my way into postgrad. I’m a fraud, an imposter… At least that’s what my brain tells me, and I see no reason to doubt it!

Imposter Syndrome is a condition that many postgraduate students experience, and which can be difficult to even acknowledge. It’s a condition characterised by feelings of anxiety and self-doubt, wherein the person experiencing imposter syndrome may feel that they don’t deserve their successes, that they’re a fraud. Personally, I don’t believe I’ve experienced imposter syndrome, because I’m genuinely undeserving of everything around me and I should not be trusted with responsibility. I believe the reason that imposter syndrome is so prevalent in universities – especially at postgrad level – is because university is brimming with intelligent, capable people. I am at all times surrounded by brilliant people, who are doing incredible research. I am surrounded by people who are passionate and incisive, who are uncovering truths about the world that no one knows. I am surrounded by people who have been doing this work for years – and absolutely killing it­ ­– and they feel like the imposters. All the people I look at to convince myself I don’t belong, spend a great deal of time hating their output, and feeling the exact same way.

There’s nothing wrong with you if you’re experiencing imposter syndrome. Self-doubt is a very human thing. Humans are social creatures, and we naturally compare ourselves to the people around us to remind ourselves how much we suck. And with the advent of social media, we can now compare ourselves with almost anyone on the planet! No longer are we limited to looking to people we know to fuel our self-loathing. Now, we can compare ourselves to people we will never meet, people who are halfway across the world; people who are upsettingly rich, and great at using photoshop, creating a perfect and unobtainable standard. It’s easier than ever to feel insecure, and unworthy of your successes, but I want you to know something, dear reader: you don’t suck. In fact, I think you’re quite cool! So, why do we feel like this, and how do we deal with it?  

Imposter syndrome relies on cognitive distortions, which are mental biases and patterns of negative thinking, which can become habitual and harm your mental wellbeing. Breaking out of these patterns of thinking can be difficult, and mending your self-perception takes effort and practice. Opening up to your friends, family and peers about your experience can be a great way to deal with imposter syndrome. For many people, it’s easier to recognise their own value when someone else points it out. External affirmations can grant you the confidence to begin believing your own affirmations, allowing you to minimise cognitive distortions, and to start changing the way you think about yourself. It will not always be easy to love and respect yourself – no matter how much of a habit you make of it, there will be bad days. But it’s still important to put in the effort to change your self-perception.

Finally, I’ve saved the worst advice for last: if nothing else works, just embrace the imposterism. You are a deceptive genius, who has tricked their way into a prestigious institution, and no one even suspects you! You should be proud of how far you’ve made it despite yourself! After all, I guarantee you that student using AI to write all of their assignments has never once felt like an imposter…