\"I think it's important because a lot of the times people forget that we're human,\" Lee told ESPN. \"I think people just look at me as a famous person; they don't actually look at me as a person and to kind of see that we can make mistakes, too.\"
Lee is not alone in speaking about imposter syndrome, a form of intellectual self-doubt that can be accompanied by anxiety and depression, according to the American Psychological Association (APA).
High-achieving figures ranging from former first lady Michelle Obama to Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis and Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg have also spoken out about feeling a sense of impostor syndrome, despite their record of accomplishments.
Lisa Orbe-Austin, a licensed psychologist and the author of \"Own Your Greatness: Overcome Impostor Syndrome,\" describes the feeling of imposter syndrome as, \"A phenomenon where highly-skilled, experienced, qualified, credentialed people have not internalized those credentials or experience and, as a result of that, fear being exposed as a fraud.\"
\"The idea of fraudulence in imposter syndrome is that you don't have the skills. You don't have the credibility. You don't have the competence, and that you're hiding it,\" Orbe-Austin told \"Good Morning America\" last year. \"The result of it is often burnout, exhaustion, a constant feeling of fatigue because they are constantly overworking to cover up this experience of fraudulence.\"
Video: Do you know these 5 myths of imposter syndrome?
As many as 70% of people experience impostor syndrome, according to Orbe-Austin, who noted the condition has been studied for more than 40 years and has \"significant amounts of research\" behind it.
\"Typically, imposter syndrome makes you less happy in your job,\" she said. \"It also affects your ability to feel like you can negotiate for yourself because you're just happy to be there.\"
Impostor syndrome can often stem from early childhood roles and family dynamics, according to Orbe-Austin.
The APA notes that feelings of being an impostor can \"often go hand in hand\" with perfectionism, explaining, \"So-called impostors think every task they tackle has to be done perfectly, and they rarely ask for help.\"
While impostor syndrome can happen to men and women and people of all backgrounds and races, there are \"additive effects\" for people of color, according to Orbe-Austin.
\"There has been research to show that when you are a person of color and you experience imposter syndrome, you also have higher levels of anxiety and higher levels of discrimination-related depression,\" she said
When it comes to coping with the feelings of self-doubt, Orbe-Austin said it's important to identify and remember why a person is successful.
\"The reason you are successful is because you have skills, abilities, credentials, competencies that you're not aware of, that you're having trouble internalizing, but that's the reason why you're successful,\" she said. \"The impostor syndrome is not the reason.\"
","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Wellness/suni-lee-describes-battle-impostor-syndrome-winning-olympic/story?id=83478659","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/suni-lee-describes-battle-impostor-syndrome-winning-olympic-83478659","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"16:11","publishDate":"03-16-2022","updatedTime":"20:14","updatedDate":"03-16-2022","socialImage":{"alt":"Sunisa Lee of Team United States poses with her gold medal after winning the women's all-around final of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 29, 2021, in Tokyo.","credit":"Jamie Squire/Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/suni-lee-olympics-gty-rc-220316_1647438873902_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"3/16/2022 16:11:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":83478659,"headline":"Suni Lee on mental health struggles post-Olympics","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_SUNI LEE IMPOSTER SYNDROME_220316","description":"Lee, 19, is now competing as a gymnast at Auburn University.","duration":"2:30","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/05/210505_gma_digital_imposter_syndrome1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["56921073","67436564","81130529"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"story","date":"August 17, 2018","headline":"You are not here by 'mistake': 1st-gen students on overcoming 'impostor syndrome'","section":"news","slug":"/news/story/mistake-1st-gen-students-overcoming-impostor-syndrome-56921073","id":56921073,"image":{"alt":"You are not here by 'mistake': 1st-gen students on overcoming 'impostor syndrome'","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/first-gen-college-ht-hb-180815_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"Courtesy Jared Jaramillo ","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"December 2, 2019","headline":"'SNL' alum says she suffered from 'motherhood imposter syndrome'","section":"family","slug":"/family/story/mom-suffered-motherhood-imposter-syndrome-67436564","id":67436564,"image":{"alt":"'SNL' alum says she suffered from 'motherhood imposter syndrome'","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/casey-wilson-motherhood-imposter-syndrome-02-gma-jc-191202_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"ABC","ratio":"1x1"}},{"contentType":"story","date":"November 12, 2021","headline":"Olympian Suni Lee says she was pepper sprayed in racially motivated attack","section":"culture","slug":"/culture/story/dwts-star-suni-lee-pepper-sprayed-racially-motivated-81130529","id":81130529,"image":{"alt":"Olympian Suni Lee says she was pepper sprayed in racially motivated attack","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/suni-lee-gty-ps-211112_1636729156405_hpMain_4x3t_240.jpg","credit":"GC Images/Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"1x1"}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Suni Lee on mental health struggles post-Olympics","description":"Lee, 19, is now competing as a gymnast at Auburn University.","duration":"2:30","uploadDate":"03-16-2022","publication":"03-16-2022","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/05/210505_gma_digital_imposter_syndrome1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/05/210505_gma_digital_imposter_syndrome1_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/suni-lee-describes-battle-impostor-syndrome-winning-olympic-83478659"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133777519","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133748258","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133730535","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133712423","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133358298","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133350119","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:wellness:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"wellness","title":"Suni Lee on mental health struggles post-Olympics","pubTime":"12:11","pubDate":"03-16-2022","modTime":"16:14","modDate":"03-16-2022","taxonomyTags":"none","id":83478659,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Suni Lee on mental health struggles post-Olympics","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_SUNI LEE IMPOSTER SYNDROME_220316","videoId":83478659,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/wellness/story/suni-lee-describes-battle-impostor-syndrome-winning-olympic-83478659"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/83478659","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/83478659","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};