Skills for Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria: A Workbook for Tweens and Teens

Absolutely. Below is your revised sales page:

• No em dashes

• Written for parents, therapists, school counselors, social workers, and educators

• Professional but warm

• Research-informed

• Clear positioning for book sales

SKILLS FOR REJECTION SENSITIVE DYSPHORIA

A Workbook for Tweens and Teens

When small moments feel overwhelming and emotional reactions seem bigger than the situation

Do you work with or care for a tween or teen who:

• Falls apart after minor criticism

• Melts down over social misunderstandings

• Assumes “They hate me” after neutral interactions

• Appears confident at school but unravels at home

• Shuts down, lashes out, or spirals after feedback

You may feel unsure how to respond.
You may feel like you are walking on eggshells.
You may wish you had language that helped instead of escalating.

Nothing is wrong with this child.

They may be experiencing Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, or RSD.

What Is Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria?

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria is an intense emotional response to perceived or real rejection, criticism, or loss of connection. While it is not currently a formal diagnosis, it is widely recognized in ADHD and neurodivergent communities.

Psychiatrist Dr. William Dodson describes RSD as emotionally overwhelming and often unbearable. Many adolescents describe it as feeling catastrophic or impossible to manage in the moment.

Neuroscience supports this lived experience.

Brain imaging studies published in Science and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show that social rejection activates the same brain regions involved in physical pain. To the nervous system, rejection does not simply feel uncomfortable. It feels threatening.

For sensitive and neurodivergent youth, that alarm system can be especially loud.

A Structured Workbook That Teaches Kids How to Work With Their Alarm

Skills for Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria: A Workbook for Tweens and Teens helps young people:

✔ Understand what is happening in their brain
✔ Recognize their rejection alarm
✔ Separate thoughts from facts
✔ Calm their nervous system
✔ Build self-compassion
✔ Repair relationships after intense moments

Most importantly, it helps them understand that they are not broken.

What Makes This Workbook Different

This is not a generic coping skills book.
It is not a lecture.
It is not a manual that tells kids to “just calm down.”

It is a structured, developmentally appropriate guide that combines:

• Comic style explanations of the brain’s alarm system, including “Your Brain’s Alarm System” in the opening section

• Visual examples that show how RSD shows up in modern social situations

• Step by step nervous system regulation tools

• Reflection prompts and guided exercises

• Clear, practical strategies that can be used at home, in therapy, or in school settings

The book walks readers through a carefully sequenced progression.

Understanding the Alarm

• Your Brain’s Alarm System

• Naming Your Alarm

• An Ancient Alarm in a Modern World

Nervous System Regulation

• Breathe Your Way to Calm

• Box Breath

• 4-1-6 Breath

• Ocean Breath

• A tiered list of breathing techniques

Identifying Triggers

• Noticing Triggers

• What Sets Off My Alarm

• Respond Instead of React

Working With Thoughts

• Thoughts, Feelings, and Facts

• Stepping Back From Your Thoughts

• Flipping Thoughts

Building an Inner Encourager

• Encourage Yourself

• Your Inner Encourager

• Self-Compassion

Reflection and Repair

• After the Alarm

• Repairing With Others

• Progress, Not Perfection

There is also a dedicated section for caregivers and professionals to support co-regulation and skill generalization .

Designed for Parents and Professionals

This workbook is appropriate for:

• Parents and caregivers

• Therapists and counselors

• School psychologists

• Social workers

• Educators and support staff

• ADHD and executive functioning coaches

It can be used:

• As a structured home workbook

• As a therapy tool

• In small groups

• As part of school based emotional regulation support

• As psychoeducation for neurodivergent youth

The language is accessible to tweens and teens while remaining grounded in research and clinical insight.

Why This Work Matters

When rejection sensitivity goes unsupported, youth may:

• Develop perfectionism

• Avoid academic or social risks

• Over-apologize or people please

• Withdraw socially

• React defensively or explosively

• Internalize shame

Over time, these patterns can impact friendships, school performance, self-esteem, and family relationships.

When youth understand their nervous system and develop regulation tools, their capacity for recovery improves. They gain language. They build insight. They experience less shame.

Understanding reduces fear.
Skills increase confidence.
Shared language strengthens relationships.

Research-Informed and Clinically Grounded

This workbook integrates:

• Research on social pain and rejection sensitivity

• Attachment-informed approaches

• Polyvagal-informed nervous system regulation

• Cognitive behavioral strategies

• Self-compassion practices

Complex neuroscience concepts are translated into developmentally appropriate language without minimizing the intensity of the experience.

Sensitivity Is Not a Flaw

Rejection sensitivity often coexists with empathy, insight, creativity, and deep relational awareness.

The goal is not to eliminate sensitivity.
The goal is to build regulation and resilience around it.

With support, sensitive youth can learn to:

Pause.
Reflect.
Respond instead of react.
Repair and reconnect.

Support the Youth You Care About

If you are supporting a tween or teen who feels devastated by small moments, who spirals quickly, or who struggles to recover after social stress, this workbook offers a clear and compassionate roadmap.

Skills for Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria: A Workbook for Tweens and Teens provides practical tools grounded in neuroscience and clinical experience.

Give them language.
Give them tools.
Give them safety in their own nervous system.

Order your copy today.

If you would like, I can now create:

• An Amazon product description version

• A shorter homepage version

• A therapist bulk order page

• A FAQ section addressing RSD and diagnosis questions

• An SEO optimized version for your website

Let me know where this will live first so I can tailor it to that platform.