Rejection Reactions

Is there an emotion that tends to arise with a rejection?

 There may be several emotions triggered. Although only one emotion holds sway in the brain at a time, emotions can rapidly alternate. Sadness may be triggered as the rejection precludes any positive interaction between two people. If the Rejection is aggressive and confrontive, Anger may be triggered, a signal that your relational and inclusion boundaries have been blocked. Fear may pop up as you think about future rejections. In 2001, the Surgeon General of the U.S. issued a report stating that rejection was a greater risk for adolescent violence than drugs, poverty, or gang membership. Some turn the rejection pain inward and struggle with issues of feeling unworthy, developing an unbalanced sense of self-esteem, and often disliking the self simply because someone else did not accept them. Anecdotal studies have shown that people who “reject” others typically have often learned to do so—sometimes from fear of what is different, sometimes from ignorance, sometimes from lack of information, sometimes from misunderstandings . It can be helpful to realize that the antonym of rejection is acceptance. Learn to accept yourself—warts and all, as some have put it.

 
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