Nobody likes rejection.
But some people REALLY don’t like rejection. For them, perceived rejection or criticism can lead to anxiety attacks, emotional distress, or situational avoidance.
This phenomena is known as rejection sensitivity.
And I have it.
I have a strong fear of rejection and criticism, which are two things that are, unfortunately, very common as a content creator.
I have done a lot of work, alone and with my therapist, to try to overcome my fear of rejection. And the work continues. But, I am getting better at recognizing it and controlling it.
If you also feel you struggle with rejection sensitivity, here are a few things to remember:
- Rejection, criticism, and failure are all part of life. Let’s just pretend for a moment we had a career that didn’t involve putting our lives on social media. Whatever job we had would still involve all of these things in some way. Remembering this may not make the rejection sting less, but will remind us that everyone goes through it.
- Some perceived rejection is self-imposed through unrealistic expectations. Have you ever posted a Reel that you thought for sure would go viral, but instead if flops? In reality that Reel isn’t a failure, you just had high expectations for it that weren’t met. Practicing viewing our content through a neutral lens helps keep our emotions in check.
- Ask for opinions from trusted friends whenever you receive a rejection or critical feedback (such as a negative comment). Often we take things more personally than was intended, and it’s good to get an outside perspective before spiraling.
- Develop resilience against rejection by practicing self-compassion, mindfulness, and affirmations. Remember, one rejection does not define you, and anything that happened in the past does not necessarily dictate your future.
Learning to recognize the signs of rejection sensitivity is not easy, and at times doing the work is uncomfortable, but the results are worth it.
