INTERSECTIONALITY

How I Overcame My Fear of Rejection in Relationships

Reframing Rejection as a Spiritual Lesson in Self-Acceptance

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I used to be terrified of rejection.

Not in the abstract, not in a general “oh-it ’s-unpleasant” kind of way.

I mean gut-wrenching, paralyzing fear that kept me from telling people how I felt, from being honest in relationships, from opening up — even when I desperately wanted connection.

For most of my life, I confused rejection with something much bigger: abandonment, shame, and the feeling that I wasn’t enough.

A single unanswered text, a weird look, or even someone needing “space” could send me into a spiral.

I’d spend days analyzing what I said, what I wore, how I looked, wondering what I did wrong. It wasn’t just fear. It felt like a kind of slow death of the self.

Looking back, it’s clear that my fear of rejection wasn’t just about relationships.

It was about the stories I’d told myself growing up.

I learned, somewhere along the way, that being lovable meant being accepted by others — especially romantically.