Rejection is Redirection (and Other Things I Tell Myself When The Sting Hits)

It doesn’t matter how emotionally intelligent, mindful, or “professionally mature” you are , when someone pulls away, it taps something ancient in the nervous system. That fight-or-flight flare. That tightness in the chest. That spiralling thought loop:

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Should I have handled that differently?”

“Maybe I am too much…”