What’s the Difference Between Rejection Sensitivity and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria?
As we’ve highlighted so far, Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is an experience of intense, overwhelming, and sometimes debilitating emotional reactions to being either rejected or perceiving rejection from others.
Of course, people who don’t have RSD or a neurodivergent condition can still experience feelings of rejection. But their response to any actual or perceived rejection will be less pronounced.
- Traits of Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD): Intense, fast reactions that have a lasting impact. Fears can influence decisions and responses. Sense of emotional turbulence and difficulties regulating them. Influences many aspects of daily life.
- Traits of typical rejection sensitivity: Proportionate emotional responses with a balanced approach to minor rejections. Doesn’t perceive rejections or feel distress and physical discomfort. More able to self-soothe and see any issues as temporary discomfort.
RSD, ADHD, and Autism
Dr William W. Dodson coined the phrase Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria as a way to highlight a trend he found in patients with ADHD. His findings suggested 98-99% of adolescents and adults with ADHD also acknowledged an experience of RSD. And a third of them listed RSD as the symptom that impaired them the most.
At the time of his 2016 paper, Dodson linked RSD exclusively to ADHD. But further exploration reveals many people without ADHD relate to RSD too.
How Is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria Linked With ADHD?
RSD was first discovered by Dodson as a symptom found in people with ADHD. But people with RSD, ADHD, Autism, and several other types of neurodivergence can display characteristics of a sensitive nervous system. And these sensitivities can manifest in different and overlapping ways.
ADHD emotional sensitivity is one manifestation. But so is having an ‘interest-based’ nervous system, according to Dodson. This is where individuals with ADHD feel inclined to focus intensely on something that interests them.
Another symptom of ADHD is emotional hyperarousal. This is a cluster of symptoms or behaviours showing a high degree of emotionality that clinicians can use to identify people with ADHD. In general, individuals with ADHD have thoughts and emotions that are more intense than the average person. And so Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is a further indicative symptom of the sensitive nervous system of people with ADHD.
What Is Emotional Dysregulation?
Emotional dysregulation is when someone experiences intense emotions and finds it hard to manage them or acts on them in appropriate ways. This may include impulsive behaviour, an inability to manage behaviours, trouble with decision making, and a lack of emotional awareness.
A person with emotional dysregulation would need to have a persistent sense of being unable to manage their emotions. Or having emotions that last for a long period of time, or lead to high levels of shame, anger, or depression.
How Is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria Linked With Autism?
While people with ADHD almost always experience RSD, those with autism can also experience these symptoms. Also, ADHD and autism can be co-occurring, in which case the chances of experiencing RSD are higher.
Not every person with autism experiences RSD. But individuals on the autism spectrum can find it hard to read inferences in body language, demeanor, and social cues. People with ASD or autism can have fast reactions and respond in extreme ways. But they may not experience the intense, incapacitating emotions and fear of rejection that comes along with RSD.
It’s possible that RSD is a symptom of autism, but not enough research exists to confirm this. Where RSD is almost always experienced by people with ADHD, someone with autism and ADHD is likely to experience RSD too. But this may be a consequence of their ADHD.
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