How To Overcome Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD)

ADHD Chatter

Alex Partridge

Education, Mental Health, Health & Fitness

4.8 • 636 Ratings

🗓️ 30 December 2025

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Jessica Summers is a world leading ADHD expert specialising in Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. As a qualified psychotherapist she can help you understand why you overthink, struggle with shame and why you’re triggered by that one small comment. Chapters: 00:00 Trailer 01:22 What is RSD (and why does it hurt) 04:18 Jessica’s RSD mission 07:38 ‘RSD isn’t real’ 08:54 The tinniest comment 11:09 20,000 extra criticisms 13:20 RSD in women vs in men 14:08 RSD in romantic relationships 15:16 The RSD blockades 17:36 The costs of perfectionism 19:37 The importance of ‘Dysphoria’ 20:32 Tiimo advert 21:54 How to manage RSD 24:57 RSD and aggression 27:18 How RSD affects masking 28:20 How to stop people pleasing 29:54 How to reframe RSD 30:40 Can RSD be useful 31:41 Closing RSD tips 32:16 Jessica’s ADHD item 34:04 Audience questions 38:10 A letter to my younger self Jessica Summers is a hypno-psychotherapist, nervous system regulation specialist, and creator of RSD Free—the only program that targets Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria at its neurological root. She discovered her breakthrough approach while retraining her own nervous system to recover from post-viral syndrome, which unexpectedly resolved her lifelong RSD. Jessica now helps neurodivergent adults rewire their brains for emotional resilience and calm. SPECIAL OFFER: Pre-order RSD Free for £240 (save £60 off the regular £300 price) Offer ends January 4th - course launches January 5th Course link:https://jessicasummershypnogenics.com/rsd-free-course Is it RSD? Answer this short quiz to find out: https://links.usegoldstar.com/widget/survey/m9rdp4WXejV2CmW9SamT Get 30% off an annual Tiimo subscription 👉 https://www.tiimoapp.com/offers/adhdchatter Buy Alex's book entitled 'Now It All Makes Sense' 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Now-All-Makes-Sense-Diagnosis/dp/1399817817 Pre-order Alex’s latest book about Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria 👉 https://linktr.ee/adhdchatter?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=9ffd8709-06df-444c-9936-c136fbd14d6e Producer: Timon Woodward Recorded by: Hamlin Studios Trailer editor: Ryan Faber DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	If you're experiencing RSD, the really important thing to remember, we cannot trust it.
0:05.0	That is the difficult bit because it's giving us this really urgent message.
0:08.4	You must do something about this.
0:09.8	This is serious.
0:10.7	You must take action on this.
0:12.5	But actually, it's completely disproportionate.
0:14.8	So we have to learn to not trust that response.
0:17.7	But it's a bit like an addiction.
0:19.1	It's very difficult to separate the trigger from
0:22.0	the reaction. Jessica Summers is a world leading ADHD expert specializing in rejection sensitivity
0:27.4	dysphoria. As a qualified psychotherapist, she can help you understand why you overthink,
0:32.3	struggle with shame, and why you're triggered by that one small comment. RSD is an experience that is a nervous system that's out of whack.
0:40.3	But there's nothing wrong with your threat assessor.
0:42.3	You have a working threat assessor, so it should be telling you that.
0:45.3	It just needs recalibrating.
0:47.3	It is a healthy response, but it needs dialing down.
0:50.3	Can RSD sometimes manifest itself as aggressive behaviour as a means of defence?
0:55.0	This is the saddest part about it.
1:01.2	Jessica, thank you so much for joining us.
1:03.3	Oh, I'm thrilled to be here. It's amazing.
1:05.9	We're going to be talking about a big topic today.
1:08.7	RSD, rejection, sensitive dysphoria, which when I ask people what
	...

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