The Romantic Rejection
How to cope with romantic rejection – a psychologist’s advice
Has a romantic partner, or someone you had a crush on, ever hurt your feelings? You’re far from alone. Very few people can boast a 100% success rate when it comes to attracting love interests. And even for those who have more “hits” than “misses”, no partner is capable of always being attentive to our needs, leading to conflicts, disappointments and breakups.
Given the ubiquity of romantic rejection, why is it often so challenging to respond in adaptive rather than destructive ways?
Humans are social creatures. Millennia of relying on our family and broader social communities for survival means that we have evolved complex psychological monitoring systems to track whether we are safely connected with others – or at risk of bein...










