Seven moves for the moment, a daily routine, and your own plan. Each tool shows how strong its evidence is. Everything you tick or type stays on this device.
Evidence key. Strong many good trials. Moderate solid lab studies or trials, not yet tested on rejection in ADHD. Weak small studies or expert opinion. No trial has yet tested any tool on rejection sensitivity in ADHD specifically.
Do not reply, post or quit yet. The first reaction is the fast one. Pick a wait time and start the clock.
Deciding in advance "if X, then I wait" helps self-control, including in ADHD.Gollwitzer 2006Gawrilow 2008 This is Barkley's first brake.Barkley 2015
Follow the circle. 5 seconds in, 5 seconds out. That is 6 breaths a minute. Two minutes is enough.
Ready when you are.
Breathing at about 6 a minute calms the body. Studies are small and results on anxiety are mixed.Zaccaro 2018
Talk to yourself by name, as if you were a friend watching from across the room. It sounds odd. It works.
Using your own name instead of "I" cut distress and replaying in seven studies.Kross 2014 Ask "what" while it is hot. Save "why" for when you have some distance.Kross 2005Ayduk 2010
The alarm reads unclear signals as rejection. Before you decide what it meant, tick every other explanation that could be true.
Rethinking what an event means lowers the feeling; this is called reappraisal.Webb 2012 Reading hurtful intent into unclear behaviour is the core of rejection sensitivity.Downey 1996
Pushing the feeling down does not shrink it. Replaying it makes it bigger. Give your attention something else for 10 minutes.
Across many studies, hiding a feeling did not reduce it, distraction helped a little, and dwelling made it worse.Webb 2012
Say these three lines slowly, in your head or out loud. Tap to go to the next line.
This hurts. That is real.
Everyone gets rejected. Even being left out of a game by strangers stings.
I will speak to myself the way I would speak to a friend.
Self-kindness softened reactions to unflattering feedback without excusing mistakes.Leary 2007 Across 27 trials it cut replaying and self-criticism.Ferrari 2019 Adults with ADHD tend to have less of it.Beaton 2022 Being left out hurts almost everyone, even in a simple online ball game.Hartgerink 2015
Now you are calmer, ask: what do I want from this relationship, job or project in a year? Choose the move that serves that.
This is Barkley's fourth brake: turning a feeling toward your longer-term goals.Barkley 2015 It is a clinical model, not yet a tested tool.
Write three moments today when someone was warm, interested or kind, however small. The alarm notices threats. This trains you to notice the rest.
Young people with more ADHD symptoms showed a weaker brain response to being accepted.Babinski 2019 Students who were good at enjoying positive moments did not show the ADHD to rejection-sensitivity link.Müller 2024 Weak
Skip: "attention training" apps that promise to retrain how you notice threats. A large review found their effects small and poorly tested.Cristea 2015
Changing or avoiding a trigger in advance is the earliest and easiest place to act.Gross 1998 Tick the situations that set your alarm off.
A plan written as "If this happens, then I will do that" is far more likely to be followed than a vague intention.Gollwitzer 2006
If low mood lasts more than two weeks, or you feel hopeless or think about harming yourself, talk to someone today. In the UK call Samaritans on 116 123 (free, any time) or NHS 111 and choose the mental health option. In an emergency call 999.