Simone Biles' Victory Over Imposter Syndrome

Discover How to Overcome Challenges and Achieve Greater Heights

Have you been keeping up with the Paris Olympics and Simone Biles ’ remarkable achievement of securing her 6th Olympic gold medal?

If you haven’t been in the loop, Biles is the most decorated gymnast in history. Yet, just three years ago, she withdrew from several Tokyo Olympic events due to mental health issues.

While her return to the podium was celebrated, there were doubts about her ability to make a comeback. Why?

Because mental health challenges are still shrouded in stigma and misconceptions – many believe that experiencing them means you’re permanently damaged or weak.

Does this resonate with you? Have you, a friend, or coworker been affected by mental health struggles?

Whether it’s panic, anxiety, or freezing up at a critical moment, you're not alone.

After 30 years of helping clients rebound from setbacks and shift into success mode, here are four key takeaways I can give you from Simone’s journey.

Mike Blake/Reuters

1. Simone Biles’ path with mental health challenges shows that there is hope – with awareness, guidance, and the right tools.

Simone Biles' journey in gymnastics, especially her triumphant return at the Paris 2024 Olympics, exemplifies the dynamics of Pathological Imposter Syndrome, its impacts, and its potential outcome with support.?

Biles withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics due to mental health issues that caused a physical complication called “The Twisties”. This was where she became disoriented while flying through the air and she couldn’t tell which way was up or down. If she had continued to compete at this point, she may very well have critically injured herself. (Read more on it here in my article entitled, "It’s Time to Remove the Stigma Around Mental Health and Stress.")

This was a dramatic example of the struggles faced by many suffering with Pathological Imposter Syndrome.?

However, there is hope. Simone has proved that it is possible to overcome this challenge and triumph.?

It starts with awareness of what causes the challenges in the first place, so you can get the help and support you need to improve your resilience and heal [1].

2. “Normal” Imposter Syndrome’s role in the Cycle of Change

All too often, I hear influencers and experts telling their audience that Imposter Syndrome -- or Imposterism -- is normal. That you just have to make up your mind that you’re in the driver’s seat of your life, and put the fear in the passenger seat for the ride.?

This is a mindset that refers to the incompetence felt when moving through the Cycle of Change.

Imposter syndrome emerges during the Cycle of Change because a necessary phase in this cycle is passing through the Valley of Fear. The Valley of Fear can either be an opportunity to build your mental muscle and resilience on your way to your new identity, or you can feel like you’re drowning in the Marianas Trench of Despair.

Everyone, including elite performers like Biles, experiences heightened discomfort, stress, and anxiety during new challenges. This is "normal" imposter syndrome, where individuals feel incompetent because their capabilities have not yet caught up to their desired changes.

3. Pathological Imposter Syndrome - What it is

Some of the most accomplished people have suffered from Pathological Imposter Syndrome, including Maya Angelou, Albert Einstein, and Tom Hanks.

Rather than feeling like the elite performers they are, sufferers believe they are fundamentally inadequate and flawed… a fraud or con artist pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes.?

This pathological form is characterized by a constant fear of being exposed as a fraud, leading to overwhelming stress, trauma, and burnout.?

In my experience, these people fall into two categories.?

1. those who don’t even try to achieve any goal because they fundamentally believe it’s impossible for them to achieve it. They settle for a life of mediocrity because they don’t believe they deserve any better.
2. those, like Simone, who push through because they believe that, if they can just get that next medal, award, degree, or raise, then they’ll finally be enough. Only then will they be accepted, worthy, and lovable.?

The problem is that the next accolade doesn’t do it for them, so they continue to push through the pain to the next level and the next… until they hit the wall from adrenal exhaustion.?

That adrenal exhaustion looks differently for everyone. Some of the ways are autoimmune disorders, cancer, infections, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain syndrome, Alzheimer’s – and to neurological sensory derangements that likely caused Simone Biles’ case of the Twisties.?

The darker side of Pathological Imposter Syndrome – the one not talked about yet – is that there are very real physical impacts if it is inappropriately labeled as a simple mindset problem and not properly addressed.

4. Pathological Imposter Syndrome: What Causes It

When I describe this as a pathology, I have gotten major pushback from some.?

However, here is why I call it “pathological”.

At the core of Pathological Imposter Syndrome is a profound lack of self-worth, self-love, and self-belief, frequently stemming from childhood trauma and ingrained programming.

This condition leaves you feeling fundamentally inadequate—believing you're flawed, deficient, or inherently incapable—rather than just temporarily unskilled, as seen in the normal Cycle of Change.

Even Simone Biles, already the most decorated gymnast in the world, still believed she wasn’t valuable if she wasn’t winning.?

After she pulled out from most of her Tokyo Olympics events, Simone tweeted that, "The outpouring of love & support I've received has made me realize I'm more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before."

The persistent fear and chronic stress associated with this syndrome can also sap your energy, potentially leading to burnout, chronic illness, and even fatal outcomes.

One client described it as she felt she was wearing work boots walking through mud and the boots just kept getting heavier and heavier as more mud caked on.

It can also wreak havoc on your current relationships, cause you to accept abusive ones, or make you shy away from forming new connections.

It can stifle your dreams and deplete your energy to the point where life feels devoid of meaning.

If that doesn’t define pathological, what does?

Given that this energy-draining condition is deeply embedded in the subconscious, I equip my clients with powerful techniques to address and release it at that level.

Here is a podcast episode on my Success SHIFT podcast, where I took listeners through a sample tool on healing from Imposter Syndrome.

Conclusion: There is hope!

After Biles won her second gold medal of the Paris Olympics (and her ninth medal overall), she stated, “I’m super proud of my performance tonight and the fight that I’ve had for the last three years mentally and physically just to get back competing on a world stage," Biles said. "The Olympic Games is an amazing experience.”

She was also very open about the work she’s still doing to stay healthy. In fact, she shared an image of her meditating in the middle of the competition and tweeted, “Mental health matters.”

If Simone can battle and triumph over her Pathological Imposter Syndrome and mental health challenges on such a public stage, so can everyone else.?

However, just as Olympians and other elite performers have a team to support them, it’s vital to employ expert support and tools to eradicate this debilitating condition at the subconscious level.?

All too often, we’ve been programmed that we are weak failures if we can’t go it alone.?

That just plays into our critical inner voice that tells us we can never be an elite performer.?

It’s time to learn from Biles and others that it’s smart for you to ask for help too and start gathering your expert support team and resources.

Now, it's your turn. Do you consider yourself to be an elite performer? If not, you might be suffering from Pathological Imposter Syndrome.

Just like Simone Biles and so many others, it’s time to reach out for help.?

Please share this with anyone you suspect is suffering from Pathological Imposter Syndrome and other mental health challenges.

References

NPR. (2024, August 1). Golden again: Simone Biles wins gymnastics Olympic individual all-around title. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/08/01/g-s1-14784/simone-biles-individual-all-around-title-gymnastics-paris [1]

The Success SHIFT LinkedIn newsletter by Dr. Irene Cop, Founder & CEO of the Success SHIFT Institute. (2021, August 6). It's Time to Remove Stigma around Mental health and Stress. https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/its-time-remove-stigma-around-mental-health-stress-dr-irene-cop/?trackingId=mE9Hd%2Bs6SmqUCBzhF7hGLQ%3D%3D [Original Source]

The Success SHIFT podcast with Dr. Irene Cop (n.d.). Self-Healing from Imposter Syndrome Using Tapping with Dr. Irene. https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/self-heal-with-dr-irene/id1561226627?i=1000531222701 [3]

?

?