Rejection sensitivity dysphoria (RSD) is the experience of intense emotional pain and distress associated with feelings of failure and rejection. RSD is linked to the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression and anxiety. Although RSD is not an official diagnosis in the DSM-5, it is beginning to be studied over time.
When you struggle with RSD, it’s easy to feel misunderstood. People may think you’re “weird” or “too sensitive” if you respond strongly to rejection, which ends up making you feel even more lonely and inferior. After all, you seriously know that your feelings are not equal to the situation; but knowing this does not stop you from feeling it. RSD is frustrating and divisive, to say the least.
Here are seven things people don’t realize you’re doing because you have rejection sensitivity dysphoria.
1. You have confidence in yourself as hell.
You are easily embarrassed and feel like you are walking on eggshells in all social interactions. This is because you are preparing for what you believe is inevitable: rejection.
As a result, you carefully monitor everything you say in the hope that you can prevent embarrassment or abandonment. This can lead to over-apology and over-explanation. And eventually, all this self-observation just leads to self-consciousness and anxiety. However, you can’t stop. It’s a vicious cycle.
2. You don’t believe yourself.
If you have RSD, you may also have low self-esteem. Your self-esteem is completely non-existent. You struggle to see your worth and what you bring to the table because you are caught up in memories or current experiences of rejection and loss. Your self-esteem is completely dependent on what other people think of you. And when what they think is wrong, you get completely frustrated.
3. You are right scared of failure.
Instead of looking at getting something wrong or failing as an opportunity to grow or maybe try again, you get crushed by it. And because you know you’re being held back by perceived (or real) failure, you’re more afraid. This fear can make you slow down sometimes. Otherwise, your fear of failure can lead to perfectionism and over-correction.
4. You isolate yourself.
You become very withdrawn and isolated, even from people who love and care about you the most. You do this as a way to protect yourself and prevent possible rejection. But what it really does is make you feel lonely and disconnected.
5. You get incredibly anxious when someone is short on text.
A vague or short interaction can make you feel like you’re in a tizzy, like someone sending a short text. Although they may be busy at work or the conversation is naturally about to end, you don’t see it that way. Take it as rejection, as an indication that they don’t want to talk to you and don’t like you.
6. You don’t handle criticism well.
You take any negative feedback as an offense to your character. He takes you inside. Even though criticism is constructive and can help you improve and grow, you never take it that way. You are just hurt by it.
7. Please people.
You just want to be liked, so you overpay for people-pleasing behavior. This means always saying yes, even if the best thing for you is no. He bends people unnecessarily and destroys himself. But because you long to be loved and accepted, you sacrifice yourself and your needs for the needs and opinions of others. It’s tiring and painful.
