Library / Rejection Sensitivity
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Emotional First Aid: Chapter 1, Rejection
Why does one "no" ruin your whole week? Because your brain literally processes rejection like pain. 🧠
Who it's for
Winch treats rejection like a physical wound that deserves first aid rather than toughing it out.
Feelings it meets
What it is
The opening chapter of Guy Winch's Emotional First Aid treats rejection as an everyday psychological wound. It covers research showing that rejection activates the same brain regions as physical pain and can impair thinking and provoke anger, and describes how people deepen the injury by treating a rejection as a verdict on their overall worth and turning to self-criticism.
Where to find it
In print, ebook and audiobook; widely held in libraries. Winch's TED talk on emotional first aid covers related ground.
Before you start
Age: General audience (suggested 14+)
Praise shames me, for I secretly beg for it.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 207
Also for rejection sensitivity
Do I Wanna Know?Song · 2013
Do You Really Want to Hurt MeSong · 1982
Who SaysSong · 2011
He's Just Not That Into YouFilm · 2009
Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—LoveBook · 2010
Rejection Proof: How I Beat Fear and Became Invincible Through 100 Days of RejectionBook · 2015