Is Impostor Syndrome A Disease Or Mental Disorder?

I was always able to study for a few hours and somehow, I just remembered everything on my study guide. In high school and college, I was jokingly ridiculed for my success, but there were times when people became upset. I was the guy that always set the curve or got an A when other people were failing. It is interesting looking back on it, because I remember in high school I told myself not to try. I actively sabotaged myself to fit in. I started to notice what I know now as I.S. when I started graduate school. I have never been challenged like I was these last couple years. I was around the smartest people I had ever met. My professors would ask a question and someone was always there with the answer and early on, I did not even have a clue. This scared me! It caused me to dive deeper and deeper into my work. I developed a poor work-life balance. I stopped working out and made less time for family and friends. I had to make sure that I could keep up. I had to make sure that I could be a good clinician in the future. “I owe it to my future patients to do well.” I can remember during midterms and finals week, I kept my head down and kept working. I knew that all I had to do was get it done to feel better. I remember every new assignment added to an already full plate felt like defeat. I would feel numb sometimes. Interestingly, I always thought to myself that this is all part of the process and I should be able to do it. If I did not, I would be