Imposter Syndrome in High-Achieving Women & BIPOC Professionals: When Success Feels Like a Mask
You’ve worked hard. You’ve achieved. You’ve shown up, performed, and perhaps even surpassed expectations. And yet… you still feel that inner voice: “One day they’ll realise I don’t really belong.” If you’re a professional woman or BIPOC leader who constantly hears “I’m just lucky” or “They’ll find out I’m pretending”, you’re not alone and this post is for you.
Here, we’ll explore what imposter syndrome is, how it shows up uniquely for high-achieving women and BIPOC professionals, why it often intersects with trauma and burnout, and what a trauma-informed, EMDR aligned therapeutic pathway looks like to move from “mask-on” to authentic presence.
What Is Imposter Syndrome?
“Imposter syndrome” (also called the “imposter phenomenon”) refers to a pattern of believing one’s success is undeserved, attributing performance to luck or timing, and living in fear of being exposed as a fraud.
Research shows that many high-achievers, especially women, report these feelings. In other words, external success can co-exist with internal doubt. Simply Psychology+1
Why It Shows Up in Women & BIPOC Professionals
There are several overlapping forces at play:
Systemic & Identity-Related Pressures
Studies show that folks from minority racial/ethnic groups and women are more likely to report imposter feelings. For example, one report found under-represented medical professionals more prone to imposter syndrome, tied to micro-aggressions, lack of belonging, and higher self-alarm. UCLA Health
Gendered expectations - women often face extra pressure to prove competence, minimize mistakes, and compensate for stereotype threat. themodernmusemagazine.com.au+1
High-Achiever Traits & Trauma History
Many high-achieving women have perfectionist wiring, internalised “if I’m not perfect I’m not good enough”, or were socialised to hide vulnerability. Simply Psychology
For BIPOC professionals, the “first”, “only”, or “underserved representation” roles often add an extra emotional load: not just doing the job, but representing, proving, and protecting. This load creates fertile ground for imposter dynamics.
Additionally, past traumatic experiences (whether childhood adversity, micro-trauma, discrimination) may shape core beliefs like “I’m not enough”, “I don’t deserve success”, or “I am only here because they lowered the bar” - all of which fuel the imposter voice.
How Imposter Syndrome Looks & Feels in Real Life
Here are some lived-experience snapshots you might recognize:
You landed a promotion, but you still say “They must’ve chosen me because of diversity quotas” rather than “I earned it.”
You dread new responsibilities because you fear being “found out” as not up to the task even though your track record is stellar.
You over-prepare, work longer hours, avoid delegation, because you believe you must compensate for your “fraud”.
You discount compliments (“That presentation? Oh it was nothing”) and track maybe only 1% of your achievements while obsessing over the 99% you believe you got wrong.
You feel exhausted, anxious, burnt out - not despite your success, but because you thought once you “arrived” you’d stop feeling like this. Instead, the feeling just changed shape.
When the drive to prove yourself turns into exhaustion, your mind may be signaling it’s time to pause and reconnect.
As one clinician put it: “The phenomenon is particularly prevalent in high achievers… and it directly correlates to later burnout and worsened mental health.” UCLA Health
When Imposter Syndrome Meets Burnout & Trauma
The overlap is important to understand - because if we only treat the surface (the “I feel like a fraud”) without addressing the deeper context (trauma, identity undermining, systemic stress), the cycle repeats.
Over-drive loop: You feel you must “prove” you belong → you push harder, skip rest, ignore boundaries → you exhaust your nervous system → burnout, breakdown, disconnect.
Trauma substrate: If early messages or repeated experiences taught you “I don’t belong,” “I’m different,” “I must make up for my difference,” those become the under-belly of imposter beliefs.
Systemic context: As BIPOC professionals or femme-identifying professionals, you carry extra invisible labour - navigating micro-aggressions, code-switching, representing more than yourself - which intensifies the internal sense of “Am I good enough?”.
In therapy language: the “mask” of success becomes heavier over time when it’s not anchored in authentic self-energy and trauma awareness.
How Therapy (Especially EMDR & Trauma-Informed Care) Can Help
Here’s how your trauma-informed, culturally attuned practice of EMDR and strength-based care addresses this intersection:
1. Identify & Externalise the Imposter Voice
You learn to recognise the internal narrative: “I’m a fraud”, “They’ll discover I’m not worthy”. Naming it reduces its power.
Together, we explore where it came from: family messages, cultural expectations, workplace dynamics, past trauma.
2. Use EMDR to Re-process Core Beliefs
EMDR helps access the nervous-system held memory of “I must perform to keep my place” or “If I’m not perfect I’ll be exposed”.
We re-link evidence of your competence with a new, healthier belief: “I belong because I am capable and valued.”
This is especially powerful for high-achieving women and BIPOC professionals whose competence has been proven externally but not internalised.
3. Strengths-Based & Culturally Responsive Framework
Your identity as a BIPOC professional or femme-identifying leader is not an “additional challenge”—it’s a source of resilience, perspective and complexity. We honour that.
We integrate cultural/contextual exploration (systems of privilege/oppression, identity burden, community expectations) and how they show up in the imposter script.
4. Create Sustainable Self-Energy Practices
We build strategies beyond the session: rest rhythms, boundary mapping, internal resource building (so you don’t move from “drive” to “burnout”).
We develop self-validation rituals: documenting your wins, accepting your “arrival”, resting into your own authority rather than always seeking external proof.
5. Reclaim Authentic Presence
Ultimately the goal is to shift from “What if they find out I’m a fraud?” to “I am enough—fully seen, fully human, fully skilled.”
You stop performing in order to belong and start leading from belonging.
5 Practical Steps You Can Start Doing Today
Here are five starting points you can implement right now:
Create a “Win Log”: Write down one accomplishment every week (however small) and note what you did, how you contributed, what others acknowledged. Over time the reading becomes evidence of worth.
Pause the Inner Critic: When the “fraud alert” voice shows up, ask: “Would I say this to a colleague I respect?” If no, it’s likely internalised doubt, not truth.
Schedule Micro-Rest Breaks: Even a 5-minute pause can interrupt the over-drive loop. Connect with your body, notice tension, reset nervous system.
Find a Voice Outside the Mask: Talk to someone (a peer, mentor, therapist) about the feeling of “I’m only here because…” and allow them to witness your internal reality.
Choose a Therapist Who Gets You: You deserve a therapist who not only understands imposter syndrome but also the gendered, racialised, professional context you live in. (And yes, I’d love to help).
Therapy offers space to slow down, reflect, and reconnect with your inner confidence - one grounded step at a time.
Conclusion
You are not alone. You are not the only one who looks “successful” on the outside while whispering “I’m still not good enough” on the inside. What you’re experiencing is a meaningful signal—your nervous system is saying “Something is off.” And that’s exactly where transformation begins.
If you’re ready to move beyond feeling like an imposter and step into your full presence - owned, grounded, resilient - let’s connect. Click “Schedule Now” button on my website and let’s set up your free consultation. You deserve a space where your identity matters, your experience is honored, and your healing is actionable.
Looking for a trauma-informed therapist in Kirkland or anywhere across Washington State who understands the weight of imposter syndrome and perfectionism?
Let’s work together to quiet the inner critic, process what’s been holding you back, and help you feel grounded in your confidence again - with authenticity, care, and lasting change.
About the author
Angelica De Anda is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and EMDR Certified therapist based in Washington State. Offering virtual therapy and in-person EMDR extended and EMDR intensives for individuals ready to move through trauma, burnout, and stress with deeper, faster results. Her work is grounded in cultural humility, compassion, and a belief in each client’s capacity to heal.
