Signs of Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria | Health

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, or known as RSD, is an extreme emotional pain triggered by the thought of getting rejected by others. This stems out from the feeling of not being good enough for others and not meeting the expectations of others. “It’s almost as if we are in a battle with self-stemming from not feeling good enough. RSD is fueled from the belief of not being enough. RSD is also associated with ADHD and often the most paralysing as it can show up in all aspects of our life,” wrote Therapist Dr Lalitaa Suglani as she addressed this disorder and spoke of the signs that denote that we are suffering from Rejection Sensitivity Disorder.

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Constant approval: Since we are always worried that we are not meeting the expectations of others, we are constantly in need of approval and validation from others that we are doing fine.

Assume no one likes us: We instantly start to assume that people do not like us. This makes us do actions that can further worsen a situation or make it embarrassing for ourselves. This makes us feel more rejected.

Severe anxiety: We anticipate rejection almost all the time. Hence, we feel severe anxiety and avoidance from others as we keep imagining that we are soon to be rejected by them.

Unrealistic expectations: To stay close to the expectations of others at all times, we often set unrealistically high expectations for ourselves – this gets us mentally drained and more frustrated.

Need to be liked: To give ourselves the assurance that we are not being rejected, we constantly need to be told that we are liked and loved.

Difficulty in emotional regulation: With feelings of failure and rejection, we are not able to adapt at all. Instead, we feel intense negative emotions for a long time and are not able to regulate them.

Shy away from relationships: We believe that the real version of ourselves is unlikeable and that’s why we shy away from relationships or any kind of commitment.

Present ourselves as perfect: We believe that we are full of flaws, and hence, we pretend to be someone else to pose as perfect.