Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria: What It Is, Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
We all feel bad about feeling rejected by others, however, there are people for whom this feeling is more overwhelming, so they have greater difficulty overcoming it and moving forward.
When a person suffers from what has been called rejection-sensitive dysphoria, they usually experience suffering when they feel rejection from other people, whether this rejection may even be imaginary in some cases. Therefore, that person has a great sensitivity towards criticism or judgment towards their person, as well as towards rejection.
In this article we will explain in more detail What is rejection-sensitive dysphoria? and we will also present some signs that could allow us to detect when a person suffers from this type of dysphoria and we will also see what mental disorders it is usually associated with.
When a person experiences rejection-sensitive dysphoria has a greater sensitivity towards criticism, evaluation and rejection by other peopleexperiences that everyone has experienced to a greater or lesser extent at some point in their lives.
However, in cases of rejection-sensitive dysphoria, these experiences can feel unbearable for the person and, on many occasions, a bad experience on a social level will be the starting point for the person to work very hard and obsessively. in various aspects of their life in order to please others (physically, academically, in the way they dress, at work, etc.).
Rejection-sensitive dysphoria It can even cause the person to be continually alert to any possible sign of disapproval, criticism, rejection or dislike towards them.so that on many occasions some action that hurts your feelings could come from an act on the part of another person that has been misinterpreted and, in reality, what you believe that the other person has done contemptuously, has actually been the result of your imagination.
Therefore, these misinterpretations could impact their relationships, resulting in rejection, what could be called a negative self-fulfilling prophecy.
Among the causes associated with rejection-sensitive dysphoria are the negative social experiences suffered (e.g., having suffered bullying, rejection by peers at school, having excessively critical parents or romantic rejections) and it has also been can be related to a genetic predisposition if there is a history within your family.
Diagnosis of rejection-sensitive dysphoria
In the diagnostic manuals of mental disorders (DSM-5 and ICD-11) there are no official criteria to diagnose rejection-sensitive dysphoria. However, this psychopathological condition has been widely recognized among mental health professionals, in addition to there being numerous studies on the matter, so it is advisable to keep it in mind.
Rejection-sensitive dysphoria shares a series of common symptoms with other mental health problems, so before “diagnosing” rejection-sensitive dysphoria it would be advisable find out if the symptoms the person in front of you is suffering from are due to another mental health condition.
To find out if it is a rejection-sensitive dysphoria, a series of questions could be asked, such as those shown below:
What do you feel after experiencing criticism or rejection from others? Have you ever experienced a neutral act from another as a rejection? Are you too worried about failing in some area of your life? Have you been told on several occasions that you are too sensitive? Are you worried about being judged by other people? Do you like to please other people? From 1 to 10, what grade would you give to your level of self-esteem?
Symptoms
The symptoms that have been most associated with cases of rejection-sensitive dysphoria are the following:
In more severe cases, people with rejection-sensitive dysphoria can become very fearful of the possibility of being rejected, reaching the point of social isolation in order to prevent possible future rejections from other people, which forms a vicious cycle of weakening your relationships and further isolation, so that you feel that you are suffering even more rejection.
While it is true that we all feel bad about experiencing any type of negative social experience or rejection from others, people with rejection-sensitive dysphoria also They tend to be more likely to obsess over any negative social experienceso it is more difficult for them than other people to forget and overcome this experience.
Rejection-sensitive dysphoria has been linked to a wide variety of mental disordersamong which are the following: mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder), social phobia, schizoid personality disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) , borderline personality disorder (BPD), Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the latter two being the ones with the most studies regarding their relationship with dysphoria. sensitive to rejection.
In a study carried out with people with ADHD and others with ASD, a high prevalence of cases with rejection-sensitive dysphoria was found, who had high emotional sensitivity.
It was also observed that They may have difficulty regulating their emotions and communicating.so that this leads them to have a perception of being rejected by other people, which can also lead to misinterpretations regarding other people’s acts, which can sometimes be neutral acts without the intention of offending anyone.
Besides, This high sensitivity to rejection makes those who suffer from it more likely to suffer symptoms of depression and anxietyas well as having thoughts of self-harm, so it would be advisable to take special care in therapy when cases of rejection-sensitive dysphoria are found, especially focusing on the treatment of associated symptoms.
On the other hand, it should be noted that anyone could suffer from rejection-sensitive dysphoria without having any mental disorder.
Related article: “The 6 differences between sadness and depression”
Rejection-sensitive dysphoria in people with ADHD
In a study carried out with 1,235 young Germans, sensitivity to justice, self-esteem, behavioral problems, ADHD symptoms and rejection-sensitive dysphoria were measured.
The results showed a high relationship between rejection-sensitive dysphoria and ADHD symptoms, which gave rise to the development of a hypothesis about the contribution of rejection-sensitive dysphoria and justice sensitivity in the onset and also in the maintenance of problems commonly related to ADHD symptoms. Therefore, it would be advisable to take rejection-sensitive dysphoria into account in psychological therapy sessions with people with ADHD.
Studies have found that ADHD symptoms could worsen the suffering of rejection-sensitive dysphoria and thus intensify the feeling of being rejected.
Likewise, these studies found that More than 60% of people with ADHD reported having symptoms related to rejection-sensitive dysphoria (for example, suffering excessive negative emotions that they could not control); while in people without ADHD, symptoms of rejection-sensitive dysphoria were found in 15% of cases.
You may be interested: “Types of ADHD (characteristics, causes and symptoms)”
Treatment
In cases of comorbidity between ADHD and rejection-sensitive dysphoria, the most used treatment within the national health system is usually medication, which is usually used to treat the core symptoms of ADHD. In addition to medication, psychotherapy and the recommendation of lifestyle changes are often used. in order to establish a series of healthy habits in the patient’s life.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the one with the greatest number of studies that have demonstrated its effectiveness in these cases, with psychologists who use this model in therapy having the objective of helping the patient identify those destructive or ineffective patterns in their behavior and in their thoughts, as well as being responsible for teaching and training with the patient a series of effective techniques in order to manage rejection, stressful situations and other associated problems.
CBT can be effective in helping people with rejection-sensitive dysphoria to recognize those negative emotions that cause so much discomfort in their lives, learning to detect if they could be excessive and also to process negative emotions in a healthy way.
