Why Does Rejection Suck So Bad?
The Science of Rejection in Human Relationships
Visceral. Painful. Agonizing. Sometimes we who’ve experienced the bitter pain and frustration of rejection even feel deep despair which accompanies a rejection in the world of romantic pursuits. This story seeks to understand why we feel this way, the awful, gut-wrenching feeling that accompanies a romantic rejection because there’s a lot more to the story than we think.
Rejection impacts all of us, from the hot-shot hedge fund manager on Wall Street to the blue-collar worker in Pennsylvania, to the college student in India, to the boy in Nigeria trying to dream up a way to improve his country’s agricultural system to better feed millions, the deep despair we sense when we’re rejected is always the same. Rejection is one of the most human experiences. First, we’ll cover the science of rejection, and then we’ll move on to some surprising techniques that you can use in your life when you’re feeling rejected, even if just remembering a moment of rejection from the past, to make yourself feel better.
The Evolution of Rejection
Rejection likely evolved in early humans because the very real threat of social ostracism which hunter-gatherer individuals faced was nothing shy of death for those who were cast out of the group. This is very much…
