What Is Rejection Sensitivity?

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Kids who tend to be anxious turn a "maybe" into a "definitely."

Their feelings of rejection hit before they think things through.

Labels lock the pattern in, but parents can help retrain their children's mind to tolerate more uncertainty.

Your child, teen, or even adult child says, "They don't like me anymore." Yet nothing clearly happened. There was no major argument, no significant exclusion, and no obvious rejection. Maybe, they say this about you even when you have to discipline them or set a boundary gently. But in their minds (I am picturing the faces of many of my counseling clients as I write this), it is already decided that they feel rejected.

This is referred to as "rejection sensitivity." But that label can quietly send the message that your child is simply wired this way (end of story). In other words, your child is "stuck" with being too sensitive. If you really want to call that "rejection sensitivity" or even "rejection sensitivity dysphoria," then by all means go........

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