Dealing with rejection is tough, whether its from a loved one, a college, a job, or even a friend. We don’t like to feel rejected, and it can be difficult to manage the feelings that come from rejection. Knowing how to deal with rejection can make your life easier and allow you to bounce back faster, despite negative feelings.
Remember that negative feelings like hurt, anger, loss, or disappointment are all normal after being rejected. It’s important to recognize that your worth isn’t built on other peoples’ feelings towards you- your strength comes from inside you.
If someone you love has recently rejected you, you likely feel blindsided and devastated. You might have seen this rejection coming, or it could have come out of nowhere. Rejection can leave you stranded, wondering how you could have fixed the situation earlier. Rejection can make you feel worthless, exhausted, and lower than low.
Answers often come with time. Although it is tempting to want to spend hours thinking over the rejection or the relationship in our heads, this actually keeps us from moving forward. If you’ve been rejected in a relationship it can be beneficial to have trusted friends or family members around you to help you move through this challenging circumstance.
Give yourself time to heal and be gracious with yourself during this process. You won’t be ‘over it’ overnight, and you shouldn’t expect yourself to be. Rejection has caused you to feel unstable, and we don’t function well when we are off balance in life. It takes time to regain your sense of self, but you can bounce back from rejection better than ever.
Don’t let rejection beat you. If you constantly find yourself unable to manage rejection from various places in your life, consider getting professional help. Talking to a therapist or counsellor can help a lot when it comes to dealing with rejection as well as coming up with coping mechanisms for thriving in spite of rejection.
Here are a few ways to deal with rejection in a healthy way:
- Make an effort to divert your attention away from negative thoughts or behaviors. When you start to think that you aren’t enough or that it’s all your fault, step back. Think of what you are grateful for.
- Reconnect with the things that make you happy, especially the small things. Go for a walk, get a massage, catch up with friends, anything that makes you happy.
- Don’t be ashamed about the feelings that you’re feeling; let them happen, and feel free to mope… but not for too long!
- Go through the stages of grief in your own time- don’t let anyone rush you.
- Don’t isolate yourself.
- Ask for help from friends, family, or a therapist if you need it.
- Spend time in nature.
- Start a journal and write out all your thoughts and feelings.
- Invest in your diet and exercise.
- Be kind and gracious to yourself.
- Don’t vent on social media or behave in a way that you’ll regret later- this only hurts you in the long run.
Over time, you’ll start to see how this rejection can be seen as a positive event in your life. It might not seem like it right away, but you will come through this stronger and more resilient than ever before. You will know who you are, what you want, and will not hesitate to hold out for the relationship you deserve. Don’t let anyone make you feel like you aren’t worth loving.