Rejection sensitive dysphoria is not a formal diagnosis, but rather one of the most common and disruptive manifestations of emotional dysregulation — a common but under-researched and oft-misunderstood symptom of ADHD, particularly in adults.
Rejection sensitive dysphoria is a brain-based symptom that is likely an innate feature of ADHD. Though the experience of rejection sensitive dysphoria can be painful and even traumatic, RSD is not thought to be caused by trauma.Dysphoria is the Greek word meaning unbearable; its use emphasizes the severe physical and emotional pain suffered by people with RSD when they encounter real or perceived rejection, criticism, or teasing.
The emotional intensity of RSD is described by my patients as a wound. The response is well beyond all proportion to the nature of the event that triggered it.One-third of my adult patients report that RSD was the most impairing aspect of their personal experience of ADHD, in part because they never found any effective ways to manage or cope with the pain.Sometimes called hysteroid dysphoria in Europe, rejection sensitive dysphoria is characterized by intense mood shifts triggered by a distinct episode, typically one of the following:The new mood sweeps in immediately and it matches the individual’s perception of the trigger.
If these triggered emotions are internalized, the person can instantaneously appear as if they have a full Major Mood Disorder syndrome complete with suicidal thinking.