Autism & Rejection 💔😵‍💫

Rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) is when you experience severe emotional pain because of a failure or feeling rejected.

It’s commonly related to ADHD, and used to describe the experience of ACUTE reactions to rejection.

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Signs Of RSD

- Emotional outbursts with rejection
- Easily embarrassed
- High self-standards & low self esteem
- Anxiety or avoidance in social situations
- Difficulty in relationships

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Given our proclivity for negative life experiences, especially during school ages, it can feel like the worlds against us.

When I was younger, each failure, negative response and rejection hit harder and harder each time.

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If I was hit by a wave of motivation or self-esteem, I may be encouraged to put myself out there.

But it only took one indication of rejection for my brain and body to start overreacting

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Even if I was successful or accepted, I still worried that it was all fake - I couldn’t accept a positive result.

I’d be constantly looking for signs of dishonesty and asking my close ones for constant validation that they do like me.

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My face would feel flushed or drained with lots of tension in body

Anxiety peaks, negative self-talk would come in fast and aggressively

In a flash, I would recall the times I’ve been rejected and I’d withdraw from and push away everyone around me.

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In early adulthood, I became very dismissive and detached, always expecting rejection/failure to avoid building up hope

Although it saved me from rejection, it also held me back and left me a negative bias towards others.

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Nowadays, I tend to be very chill with rejection from people I don’t know or care for…

But I’m still working on managing my emotions when rejected or dismissed by people I care about.

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What are your autistic experiences with rejection?