Read on Twitter
Let’s talk about Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria - a thing you might not have heard of, but might actually be intimately familiar with... (a thread)
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, or RSD, is extreme emotional pain triggered by the perception—real or imagined—of being rejected, criticised or a disappointment to important people in your life.
An episode can take someone from well-functioning to suicidal in under an hour.
An episode can take someone from well-functioning to suicidal in under an hour.
“The pain is so primitive and overwhelming that people struggle to find any words to describe it. They can talk about its intensity (‘awful, terrible, catastrophic’) and cannot find words to convey the quality of the emotional pain.” - Dr William Dodson, MD
People who experience RSD tend to become chronic people pleasers, or hide from opportunities where they may be exposed to criticism. Often they’ll hide even from their own goals, for fear of failure.
Women with RSD are often misdiagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder or Bipolar as a result of the extreme emotional dysregulation it brings about.
The surprising thing? RSD *only* occurs in people with ADHD. It is an exclusive hallmark.
If you identify with the description of RSD it’s well worth reading up on ADHD. The ways it presents in adults, especially in women, might totally surprise you. https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-symptoms-in-women/
If you identify with the description of RSD it’s well worth reading up on ADHD. The ways it presents in adults, especially in women, might totally surprise you. https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-symptoms-in-women/
One final thing - in repeat surveys, both scientific and anecdotal, women with ADHD report that their RSD is the most disabling feature of their ADHD. The Most Disabling. And yet most people don’t even know it exists.
You can read more about RSD here - https://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/more-than-thin-skinned-rejection-sensitive-dysphoria-1130197
Obviously I am not a doctor or a psych or an expert at all, but I AM someone who figured this out late in life and has spent the last 12 months obsessively learning about it all. So if you have questions, I’ll do my best to help! x
