No-one is talking about the biochemical and low serotonin aspect of imposter syndrome and the role tryptophan plays. This really does need to be part of the discussion and part of the solution.
In case you aren’t familiar with the term imposter syndrome, many of my clients who appear to have very successful careers will say to me … “I feel like I’m an imposter. They’re going to catch me out at what I’m doing. I’m not really as good as everyone thinks I am.” Perhaps you can relate to this? You just don’t feel that you’re good enough – you’re faking it until you make it and putting on a brave face.
An article published on Psychology Today states that these “feelings of inadequacy are surprisingly common” and cites the results of a 2020 systematic review: “62 studies with over 14,000 participants found that a staggering 56 percent to 82 percent of individuals, across genders, backgrounds, and ages, experienced imposter feelings at some point.“
Valerie Young’s excellent book, The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women: Why Capable People Suffer from the Impostor Syndrome and How to Thrive in Spite of It, [my Amazon link] has created the awareness we need and offers so much in terms of recognizing the way imposter syndrome manifests in our lives. She shares these examples which you may also resonate with:
From the high-achieving Ph.D. candidate convinced she’s only been admitted to the program because of a clerical error to the senior executive who worries others will find out she’s in way over her head, a shocking number of accomplished women in all career paths and at every level feel as though they are faking it – impostors in their own lives and careers.
This article in Harvard Business Review, Overcoming Imposter Syndrome, states
Imposter syndrome can be defined as a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success. ‘Imposters’ suffer from chronic self-doubt and a sense of intellectual fraudulence that override any feelings of success or external proof of their competence.
The article mentions phrases such as “I must not fail”, “I feel like a fake” and “it’s all down to luck”, offering these tools: recognize the imposter feelings, reframe, talk about how you feel, be kind to yourself, visualize success and seek support.
This is all great advice but it’s hard work when you’re already struggling. And what if there was a simple solution that involved addressing low serotonin with an amino acid supplement such as tryptophan or 5-HTP?
How you will feel if your serotonin is low
If your serotonin is low you WILL feel like this: plenty of self-doubt, lack of confidence and negative self talk. It’s common to feel anxious and inadequate, have ruminating thoughts, do lots of reprocessing and overthinking, and be a perfectionist (you may get stuck because of the perfectionism and overthinking things). This often occurs together with carb cravings (especially late afternoon and evening), PMS/perimenopausal/menopausal symptoms. Insomnia is common and this is when much of the ruminations and negative self-talk occurs.
There is a very simple solution. Figure out if low serotonin is the issue and address it with tryptophan or 5-HTP. Using co-factors like zinc, vitamin B6, iron, magnesium, and diet and lifestyle changes may be necessary too. Other neurotransmitter imbalances like low GABA, low endorphins and low dopamine may also be factors.
I can relate to all this personally. I had a very successful corporate job in my late 30s and I started to feel sure I was useless and that I was going to lose my job. I felt like they were going to figure I didn’t really know what I was doing despite my leadership abilities! Then the dreadful perimenopausal symptoms and anxiety and panic attacks started. And then I figured out it was low serotonin, low GABA and hormone imbalances, and a number of other root causes that contributed to my low neurotransmitters. I list many typical root causes below.
Why is serotonin low (and address the root causes)
You need to figure out why serotonin is low and address this. Low serotonin may be caused by many factors such as:
- dysbiosis and a messed up microbiome (we make so much serotonin in the gut)
- stress and the adrenals (cortisol affects your sex hormone production)
- the birth control pill (which lowers zinc and vitamin B6, both of which are needed for serotonin production)
- gluten issues (leading to low serotonin and other nutritional deficiencies)
- not consuming enough quality animal protein (amino acids are the building blocks of our neurotransmitters, and grass fed red meat provides zinc, iron and omega-3s – all needed to make serotonin)
- low stomach acid (meaning you can’t digest the protein you’re consuming)
- sex hormone imbalances (serotonin and estrogen are very closely linked)
- liver issues (affecting how you process xenoestrogens)
- low bile production (so you’re not digesting the healthy fats you’re eating)
- statins (leading to cholesterol that is too low)
- not getting enough exercise, sunshine or nature
- mold exposure
- heavy metal toxicity
- Lyme disease and other co-infections
- and more
I’ve poured through the research on imposter syndrome and there is no mention of serotonin. A few articles – like this one in Forbes, Why You Need To Understand The Neuroscience Of Imposter Syndrome – do mention serotonin and dopamine:
feelings of “not deserving” correlate with lower levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin which relates to mood, and low levels of dopamine which are connected to reward and motivation
There is no mention of tryptophan (or 5-HTP) or any of the above approaches for raising serotonin (other than exercise) or tyrosine to help raise dopamine. However, clinically we see all the signs of imposter syndrome disappear once low serotonin is addressed, and motivation improve once low dopamine is addressed.
Update July 2024: A paper published shortly after this blog was published, Focusing on the Neuro-Psycho-Biological and Evolutionary Underpinnings of the Imposter Syndrome, does mention the need to explore the role serotonin and other neurotransmitters:
exploring the serotonin, oxytocin, and dopamine systems among imposterism sufferers could be a worthy research pursuit. Likewise, it would be intriguing to know how these neuro-hormones and other bioactive molecules are functionally interconnected, and how they are related to the feelings of self-doubt in the syndromal imposters.
Based on my experience, I suspect research will eventually confirm that low serotonin is a major factor with imposter syndrome but also that many other neurotransmitters play a role too – with low levels of oxytocin, dopamine, endorphins and GABA. The above paper also mentions a possible role of cortisol and sex hormones. And just as we see with anxiety, fears and worries, the combination of root cause factors will likely be unique for each person.
Additional resources when you are new to using tryptophan and other amino acids as supplements
As always, I use the symptoms questionnaire to figure out if low serotonin or other neurotransmitter imbalances may be an issue.
If you suspect low levels of any of the neurotransmitters and do not yet have my book, The Antianxiety Food Solution – How the Foods You Eat Can Help You Calm Your Anxious Mind, Improve Your Mood, and End Cravings, I highly recommend getting it and reading it before jumping in and using amino acids on your own so you are knowledgeable. And be sure to share it with the practitioner/health team you or your loved one is working with.
There is an entire chapter on the amino acids and they are discussed throughout the book in the sections on gut health, gluten, blood sugar control (this is covered in an entire chapter too), sugar cravings, anxiety and mood issues.
The book doesn’t include product names (per the publisher’s request) so this blog, The Antianxiety Food Solution Amino Acid and Pyroluria Supplements, lists the amino acids that I use with my individual clients and those in my group programs.
If, after reading this blog and my book, you don’t feel comfortable figuring things out on your own (i.e. doing the symptoms questionnaire and respective amino acids trials), a good place to get help is the GABA QuickStart Program (if you have low GABA symptoms too). This is a paid online/virtual group program where you get my guidance and community support.
If you are a practitioner, join us in The Balancing Neurotransmitters: the Fundamentals program. This is also a paid online/virtual program with an opportunity to interact with me and other practitioners who are also using the amino acids.
Imposter syndrome and low serotonin? Have you made the connection and can you relate?
Please comment below if imposter syndrome resonates with you so we can all learn from each other. I’d love to hear:
- how imposter syndrome shows up in your life and how you’d describe it to your best friend?
- when do you feel like this – at work, all the time (work and home life) or only certain situations?
- are these new feelings and if yes when did they start? or have you always felt like this?
- what type of job do you have? or are you an entrepreneur?
- have you sought help for imposter syndrome and what has helped?
- are you surprised to learn there is a biochemical aspect and nutritional solutions?
- what other low serotonin symptoms do you have?
- have you used tryptophan (or 5-HTP) for other low serotonin symptoms (like anxiety, ruminations, insomnia etc) and then realized that imposter syndrome is no longer an issue for you?
- have you figured out and addressed some of the root causes of your low serotonin?
- have you found that other neurotransmitter support has helped too – such as GABA (for low GABA) or DPA (for low endorphins) or tyrosine (for low dopamine) or glutamine (for low blood sugar)?
(if you feel more comfortable sharing some of this anonymously feel free to use a nickname when commenting – I’m aware that there is a stigma to admitting this in the corporate world)
Feel free to post your questions too.