Fear of rejection

The fear of rejection is firmly anchored in most people. This fear is usually nothing unusual, but represents normal behavior. Everyone values a healthy social life and being rejected does not make us feel good. And it is very likely that everyone has been rejected at some point in their lives. However, this alone is not a prerequisite for an illness and does not require further psychological treatment. These emotions only become worrying when the fear of rejection dominates everyday life.

Fear of rejection – symptoms

Anxiety disorders can manifest themselves in different ways in everyday situations. The fear of embarrassing oneself or not being able to meet possible demands often leads to avoidance behavior. People who cannot get over past rejections begin to avoid situations and gradually withdraw from their social contacts.
If contact with other people is avoided, there is a risk that a social phobia will develop. We speak of a social phobia when contact with other people or the mere idea of it triggers panic and anxiety. Social phobia not only leads to a significantly reduced quality of life and restrictions in social areas of life (partnerships and relationships with friends and acquaintances), but also to restrictions in other areas of life. For example, it has been shown that those affected drop out of school earlier and are at a higher risk of unemployment. Others often work in professional positions that are below their actual qualifications.

Many sufferers also find themselves in a kind of dichotomy, in which they are afraid of not “coming across well” but at the same time seek the attention and approval of others. The urge to please and avoid confrontation means that their own personality cannot develop. As a result, the person denies themselves and their – already low – self-esteem remains at a critical level. The difficulty here is to develop a healthy self-confidence. For people who have often experienced rejection, this is usually a difficult hurdle to overcome. However, it is important to develop this in order to be more confident and face up to their fears. The person affected now finds themselves in a kind of vicious circle.
The fear of rejection by other people also has many parallels with test anxiety and speech anxiety. The different forms have in common that both psychological and physical symptoms occur in the respective situation. Most people react to the mere idea of rejection through interaction with inner restlessness and feelings of anxiety.
The psychological symptoms are characterized by negative thoughts or panic. These then often lead to the aforementioned avoidance behavior in which the person concerned withdraws from the situation.

The physical symptoms, on the other hand, often manifest themselves in sweating, trembling, flushing of the face and neck, stuttering, abdominal pain and palpitations. Depending on the intensity, there may also be severe stomach pain and diarrhea. Increased muscle tension can also be seen as a physical reaction. The tense posture can in turn lead to other symptoms such as headaches. The symptoms are similar to those of a panic attack. However, while those affected by a panic attack are aware of this and can initiate appropriate countermeasures, people with a strong fear of rejection are often unable to do so. In the respective situation, they usually know that their fears are not rational. Nevertheless, they are not in a position to do anything about the symptoms and fears.
In order to overcome the fear of rejection, acceptance and self-love for oneself must be learned. It is also important to recognize and accept that rejection is not always a negative thing. Valuable insights for future life can also be gained from the experiences made.
If the fear of rejection becomes pathological, it is a mental disorder that should be treated. If left untreated, it tends to persist and increases the risk of other disorders.

Fear of rejection causes

The reason for an increased fear of rejectioncan often be found in childhood. And just as often, those affected can no longer remember the experiences they had. Nevertheless, it is precisely these experiences that can still influence life in adulthood. Influences in the early years of life in particular have a strong impact on how rejection is dealt with later on. Early learning experiences and the shifted classification of feelings of fear can pave the way for a later illness, as the inner attitude is learned during early childhood development, which then has an impact on the rest of life.
In addition to the learning experiences from childhood, it can also happen that people are unable to accept themselves. In this case, the fear of rejection is linked to insecurities about oneself. Here, the external appearance, which is often evaluated rather negatively, often plays an overriding role.

Fear of rejection – therapy

Unfortunately, it is still a myth that fears cannot be successfully resolved. Every specific fear, whether repressed or not, can be resolved. Even the fear of rejection. When you dissolve this fear, you will notice that the avoidance behaviors caused by the defense mechanisms also fall away. Freedom from fear and deeper access to relationships and attachments are often the result.

Fear of rejection test

You will find the fear test in the blue circle at the bottom right of the screen. If you click on it, it will open and you can start immediately. Free, without advertising and without registration! Start by entering
“fear of rejection”
in the fear test. It will then check whether you actually have this fear inside you. If you have found it there, the fear of rejection can be resolved with our Fear Therapy app. You can find the link below. The app works without confrontation and without traveling into the past! So you don’t need to be afraid of the treatment itself and can therefore do it all by yourself.

Once you have successfully resolved the fear of rejection, you also check yourself for the

“feeling of rejection”

and the fear and feeling of rejection and then resolve these if necessary.

Start immediately. Dissolving fears has a very liberating and calming effect.

IF YOU DON’T RESOLVE THE CAUSES, YOU ARE ONLY WORKING ON THE SYMPTOMS!