Rejection is something we all face from time to time in our lives. Some forms of rejection are easier to deal with than others. For example, being rejected for a job application hurts, but it might not hurt as much as being rejected by someone you love.

Regardless of the type of rejection, when you’re dealing with it, you need to make sure you’re dealing with it in a healthy way. Here are some tips that can help.

Five tips for dealing with rejection

1. Understand why it hurts — Being rejected almost always hurts on some level, but not all pain is the same. It’s important to try to recognize why the rejection hurts before you can work on processing it. Does it hurt because you were attached to the other person? Does it hurt because you felt like you weren’t given a chance? Does it hurt because you were too infatuated? Did you have pride on the line?
   Try to identify your pain, and then work on healing from there.
2. Allow yourself to process your emotions — Too often, we try to bury or run from our emotions. It’s important to acknowledge the pain and other emotions if you ever want to deal with them. One way to do this is to write it all down.
   Write your emotions out in a journal. This forces you to pay attention to them and helps you process through them.
3. Practice some self-care — After being rejected, it’s tempting to wallow in self-pity. However, instead of sitting on the couch, watching reruns, and eating ice cream and pizza, you should practice some self-care instead. Exercise, do yoga, meditate, get outside or learn a new hobby. These activities can help release endorphins in your body that help improve your mood, and they can help your mind focus on something else for some time.
4. Lean on your friends and family — You’re not alone in your pain. Rejection can cause you to project some fear of further rejection onto other people in your life. However, if there are people you trust, you need to lean into that trust and turn to them for comfort and companionship when you’re going through a hard time.
5. Talk to God — One of the beautiful things about being a child of God is that we can communicate directly to Him. We can pray to Him at any time, anywhere. We can bring our troubles to Him and trust that He empathizes with us and wants the best for us. His presence can help soothe our spirits and help us grow more content with our circumstances.

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