Rejection
The painful appraisal of having been excluded or refused by someone whose acceptance mattered.
How it shows up
Rejection is the sting of being turned down or left out by someone whose acceptance mattered: an unanswered message, a lost bid for a role, a partner leaving. It often brings replaying, self-questioning, and an urge to withdraw or win approval back. Some studies suggest social pain and physical pain share overlapping brain systems, though how far that overlap goes is debated. Its focus on a specific refusal separates it from general loneliness.
How it differs from Loneliness
Rejection is the pain of a specific refusal or exclusion; loneliness is a broader sense of lacking wanted connection.
Notice
After a rejection, notice the story you tell yourself about why it happened.
Where it is felt
Felt most in the chest, stomach and throat.
Based on Nummenmaa et al. (2014), bodily maps of emotions, and related research. The map shows where people report bodily sensation, on average; individual experience varies.