Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is a Fear of Success?SignsCausesGetting HelpOvercoming Fear of SucessTreatment
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
What Is a Fear of Success?
Signs
Causes
Getting Help
Overcoming Fear of Sucess
Treatment
Those who experience fear of success often struggle with feeling like imposter syndrome or fear of not being able to continue to perform successfully. As with otherphobias(excessive, persistent, and irrational fear of an object or situation), fear of success can interfere with one’s life and cause significant distress, but there are treatments available.
This article will discuss fear of success, its causes, how it’s treated, and ways to cope.
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People often hear about thefear of failure, but people may also experience a fear of success. This may sound contradictory since much of society prizes success. Careers and many other areas of life can depend on successes of various types, so a fear of success is unusual.
Success, though, often brings change and more and different responsibilities. This can be anxiety-provoking and scary. It can also make a person more visible, which not everyone enjoys.
Signs of a Fear of Success
Fear of success can look different from person to person. Signs and symptoms can include:
Other signs include never speaking up at a team meeting, not taking on leadership roles or new projects, or not talking with your boss about a raise or promotion.
Getting HelpIf you or a loved one is struggling with fear of success, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.
If you or a loved one is struggling with fear of success, contact theSubstance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helplineat800-662-4357for information on support and treatment facilities in your area.
What Causes a Fear of Success?
There may be a variety of reasons someone develops a fear of success. These can include:
In addition, fear of success is often a problem in the population of people who also suffer from anxiety and depression.
Getting Help for a Fear of Success
Clinical diagnostic criteria for specific phobias involve the following:
Talking with a professional about your feelings, experiences, and behaviors with school or work will help them find ways for you to manage your fears.
How to Overcome a Fear of Success
There are ways to cope with your fear of success that do not involve self-sabotage or avoiding achievements. Thinking about your fear, its origins, and its associated behaviors are all part of coping with it—and not avoiding it.
Tips for Coping
Phobias involve a stress reaction. Better managing your stress can help promote relaxation and reduce anxiety. Things you can do include:
Psychotherapy can be beneficial for phobias and for treating a fear of success.
Cognitive behavioral therapy(CBT) is a form of psychotherapy that has proven to be very effective in treating and managing anxiety, phobias, and related disorders. In CBT, the person works through how their thoughts, behaviors, and emotions are connected. If changes are made in one area, this results in changes in the other areas.
In treating a fear of success, a CBT therapist might work with a person to overcome their negative thoughts about success, which can change how they perform or behave at school or work—which can then change how they feel about success.
Reframing situations (looking at them in new ways) and learning how to do the therapeutic homework are also part of CBT. It can help you in everyday situations.
Summary
While phobias or significant fears don’t typically go away on their own, treatments are available. If you’re struggling with fear of success, you don’t have to handle it yourself. Talk with your healthcare provider about what you’re feeling. They can connect you with a counselor who can help.
How Phobia Is Diagnosed
7 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.Specific phobias.Kosakowska-Berezecka N, Jurek P, Besta, T, Badowska S.Self-presentation strategies, fear of success and anticipation of future success among university and high school students.Front Psych. 2017;8:1884. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01884Neureiter M, Traut-Mattausch E.An inner barrier to career development: Preconditions of the impostor phenomenon and consequences for career development.Front. Psychol.2016;7:48. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00048Yilmaz H.Fear of success and life satisfaction in terms of self-efficacy.Universal Journal of Educational Research. 2018;6(6):1278-1285. doi:10.13189/ujer.2018.060619Bravata DM, Watts SA, Keefer AL, et al.Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: a systematic review.J Gen Intern Med. 2020;35(4):1252-1275. doi:10.1007/s11606-019-05364-1Anxiety & Depression Association of America.Tips to manage anxiety and stress,Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.Treatment at the CTSA.
7 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.Specific phobias.Kosakowska-Berezecka N, Jurek P, Besta, T, Badowska S.Self-presentation strategies, fear of success and anticipation of future success among university and high school students.Front Psych. 2017;8:1884. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01884Neureiter M, Traut-Mattausch E.An inner barrier to career development: Preconditions of the impostor phenomenon and consequences for career development.Front. Psychol.2016;7:48. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00048Yilmaz H.Fear of success and life satisfaction in terms of self-efficacy.Universal Journal of Educational Research. 2018;6(6):1278-1285. doi:10.13189/ujer.2018.060619Bravata DM, Watts SA, Keefer AL, et al.Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: a systematic review.J Gen Intern Med. 2020;35(4):1252-1275. doi:10.1007/s11606-019-05364-1Anxiety & Depression Association of America.Tips to manage anxiety and stress,Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.Treatment at the CTSA.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.Specific phobias.Kosakowska-Berezecka N, Jurek P, Besta, T, Badowska S.Self-presentation strategies, fear of success and anticipation of future success among university and high school students.Front Psych. 2017;8:1884. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01884Neureiter M, Traut-Mattausch E.An inner barrier to career development: Preconditions of the impostor phenomenon and consequences for career development.Front. Psychol.2016;7:48. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00048Yilmaz H.Fear of success and life satisfaction in terms of self-efficacy.Universal Journal of Educational Research. 2018;6(6):1278-1285. doi:10.13189/ujer.2018.060619Bravata DM, Watts SA, Keefer AL, et al.Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: a systematic review.J Gen Intern Med. 2020;35(4):1252-1275. doi:10.1007/s11606-019-05364-1Anxiety & Depression Association of America.Tips to manage anxiety and stress,Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.Treatment at the CTSA.
Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.Specific phobias.
Kosakowska-Berezecka N, Jurek P, Besta, T, Badowska S.Self-presentation strategies, fear of success and anticipation of future success among university and high school students.Front Psych. 2017;8:1884. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01884
Neureiter M, Traut-Mattausch E.An inner barrier to career development: Preconditions of the impostor phenomenon and consequences for career development.Front. Psychol.2016;7:48. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00048
Yilmaz H.Fear of success and life satisfaction in terms of self-efficacy.Universal Journal of Educational Research. 2018;6(6):1278-1285. doi:10.13189/ujer.2018.060619
Bravata DM, Watts SA, Keefer AL, et al.Prevalence, predictors, and treatment of impostor syndrome: a systematic review.J Gen Intern Med. 2020;35(4):1252-1275. doi:10.1007/s11606-019-05364-1
Anxiety & Depression Association of America.Tips to manage anxiety and stress,
Center for the Treatment and Study of Anxiety.Treatment at the CTSA.
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