It takes a LOT of work and effort, but here are some of the ways ive managed to combat this, which has worked for both RSD and BPD. This is alongside DBT and medication.
- utterly refusing to use negative self talk. Not just when youβre experiencing RSD, but at any time ever. One of the biggest forms of RSD is extreme shame and self hatred. When negative self talk starts, i will physically out loud or mentally say βnope, we arent doing that anymore!β and replacing it with gentle self love. I do this by imagining that instead of talking to me right now, iβm talking to me as the very small young little kid who is scared after messing up. Itβs okay sweetheart, it was an accident. Letβs clean it up together, i love you π
- taking deliberate time to calm my emotions when they start building. Saying βi need to remove myself from this situationβ, going to a place i can be alone for a moment, and taking deep breaths and focusing on slowing down my heart rate.
- reminding myself that it is mental illness. The things i feel, the extreme anger and shame and humiliation and self hatred, im not feeling those because i deserve it or because thats whats supposed to happen. Im feeling that because the chemicals and wires in my brain are misfiring. It is something that can be managed and calmed. It is not my permanent state, and it is something that i can overcome.
Its taken me years to get to a point where i feel i can manage these emotions in a healthy way, and i still occasionally struggle to do so. But it IS possible and it IS manageable π
The most painful part of ADHD is something called RSD β Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. It turns even the tiniest mistakes into a disaster, making you feel like you are a failure that ruined everything.