My girlfriend just left. We had a wonderful evening, but it was time to go. She had work in the morning, i had work, and it was just… time. Walked her out to the car, said our goodbyes, and I went back upstairs. And after I closed the door, I wanted to burst into tears. Hi , my name is Trevor, and I have RSD.

RSD stands for Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. It’s commonly thought of as a emotional dysregulation ,related to ADHD. Basically, any rejection is seen as a catastrophe. People are sometimes told “suck it up, you’re too sensitive”. I was told that a lot. What people don’t understand is what that advice does to you, especially as a male in Western society. Suck it up becomes a prison sentence. It becomes solitary confinement.

It makes you afraid to dare, to try. It makes your world small. It makes you cling to people who treat you badly because, who else is going to have you? It’s disturbing when you realize what’s going on. You either fight, flight or fawn. RSD is associated with ADHD, but if there isn’t a link to trauma and depression, I’ll eat my hat.

So what stops RSD? Breathing exercises, which slows the panicked mind. It helps you slow down the over thinking and catastrophising that comes with this. And then you learn to talk to yourself, calmly and rationally, about what’s really going on. Then you acknowledge the thoughts, and let them go. And occasionally, you write about it.

Did I end up crying? Bawling on the couch? Sorry to disappoint some readers, but nope. I talked it over with myself, kicked the brain weasels out, and had some emotional support chocolate. As one does.

Good night, and a prize to whoever guesses first where tonight’s blog post title comes from.