MyRSD - Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria Assessment & Toolkit

If you have ADHD and experience intense emotional responses to rejection, you're not alone. Research suggests that up to 99% of people with ADHD report experiencing rejection sensitivity, with about one-third finding it the most challenging aspect of their condition.

Why Is RSD So Common in ADHD?

The connection between ADHD and rejection sensitivity isn't fully understood, but researchers have identified several likely factors:

Dopamine Differences

The ADHD brain has differences in dopamine signalling - the neurotransmitter involved in reward and motivation. This can make positive social feedback feel less satisfying while making negative feedback feel more painful.

Emotional Dysregulation

ADHD affects the brain's ability to regulate emotions. Feelings are often more intense, harder to manage, and take longer to recover from. This applies to all emotions, including the pain of rejection.

Executive Function Challenges

Difficulty with working memory and cognitive flexibility can make it harder to put rejection in perspective or remember positive experiences that balance negative ones.

A Lifetime of Negative Feedback

Beyond neurology, there's a powerful environmental factor: by the time they reach adulthood, many people with ADHD have receivedsignificantly more negative feedback than their neurotypical peers.

Research suggests that children with ADHD receive 20,000 more negative messages by age 10 than children without ADHD. This includes corrections, criticism, expressions of disappointment, and being told they're "not trying hard enough" or "not living up to their potential."

This constant barrage of negative feedback creates what might be called an "emotional sunburn" - a heightened sensitivity to anything that resembles criticism. After years of being corrected, judged, and misunderstood, the nervous system becomes hypervigilant to rejection.

Common Experiences

People with ADHD and RSD often report:

Perfectionism: Setting impossibly high standards to avoid any chance of criticism
People-pleasing: Exhausting yourself trying to make everyone happy to avoid rejection
Avoidance: Not trying new things or taking risks because the potential for failure is too painful
Interpreting neutrality as negative: Assuming someone is upset with you based on a neutral expression or brief message
Rumination: Replaying perceived rejections for hours, days, or even years
Quick to assume: Jumping to worst-case conclusions about what others think of you

It's Not "Just" Sensitivity

One of the most frustrating aspects of RSD in ADHD is being told you're "too sensitive" or need to "toughen up." This misses the point entirely.

RSD is neurological, not a choice or character flaw
The emotional pain is as real as physical pain
You can't simply "choose" not to feel it
But you CAN learn strategies to manage it better

Treatment Approaches

Because RSD is so closely linked to ADHD, treatment often involves:

Medication

Alpha-2 agonists (guanfacine, clonidine): These can specifically help with emotional reactivity and are often used alongside stimulants
Stimulant medications: By improving overall ADHD symptoms, stimulants can also improve emotional regulation
MAOIs: In some cases, these older antidepressants can help with rejection sensitivity

Therapy

CBT: Helps identify and challenge distorted thought patterns about rejection
DBT: Teaches distress tolerance and emotion regulation skills
ADHD coaching: Practical strategies for managing emotional reactions

Self-Help Strategies

Understanding that RSD is part of your neurology, not a failing
Building a "pause" between trigger and response
Reality-checking thoughts before acting on them
Developing a support system that understands ADHD
Creating coping plans for common triggers

Moving Forward

Understanding the ADHD-RSD connection can be both validating and empowering. When you know that your intense emotional responses have a neurological basis, you can:

Stop blaming yourself for being "too sensitive"
Seek appropriate treatment that addresses both ADHD and RSD
Explain your experiences to loved ones more effectively
Develop targeted coping strategies
Build a life that works with your brain, not against it

The ADHD and RSD Connection