How to Deal with Rejection: 4 Strategies That Can Help

This article is part of a series on how to cope with common feelings that can be tough to experience. Here, experts provide simple strategies for acknowledging and managing feelings of rejection.

A friend stops inviting you to meet for coffee. A crush turns you down. You don’t land your dream job. All these situations have one thing in common: They can cause feelings of rejection. Whatever the situation may be, rejection can be heartbreaking.

What Is Rejection?

Rejection is a feeling that can happen when someone doesn’t respond in the way you had hoped they would, says Tina B. Tessina, Ph.D., a psychotherapist who practices in Long Beach, California. “It’s easy to feel unwanted and rejected,” she says. “Even when there may be many reasons for the other person’s response, or lack of response, or ghosting.”