Your boss said "this could use some work" and you're devastated. Not annoyed. Devastated. The emotional intensity is wildly disproportionate, and you know that, which makes it worse. This is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, and it's common with ADHD.
What it looks like
RSD, coined by Dr. William Dodson, describes intense emotional pain triggered by perceived rejection. "Perceived" is key — a neutral tone of voice or a delayed text can trigger the same flood as direct criticism. People describe it as a punch to the gut. It's fast, intense, and disproportionate.
Why ADHD makes it worse
The prefrontal cortex — the brain's emotion-modulation center — is underactive in ADHD. Emotional responses are less filtered, less proportional. Add a lifetime of actual rejection — the corrections, the "not living up to potential" — and you have a brain neurologically primed for rejection pain and loaded with evidence it's coming.
Managing it
Recognize the pattern. "I'm having an RSD response" creates distance. It won't eliminate the pain, but it gives you a frame.
Pause before responding. RSD triggers impulsive reactions. Even 10 minutes changes the quality of your reaction.
Check the evidence. In the moment, RSD tells a story: they don't respect you, you're going to be fired. Later, the evidence rarely supports it.
Build a shame-proof environment. Tools that reduce daily shame — celebrating comebacks, tracking progress not perfection — gradually lower baseline sensitivity.