4 GROUNDCOVER NEWS MENTAL HEALTH work, It happened again last night. At I made a mistake and my coworker got mad at me. Some people may have snapped back and let it go. Or they may have completely ignored his behavior. For someone like me, it’s not that simple. After his comment, I felt the flush of shame most people feel when they make a mistake. Usually, it ends there. For me, it escalates. I became more and more upset and angry. I started to argue back. At one point I became so dysregulated I felt like running out of the building and never coming back. This is because I have a condition called Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. In my adult life, I have had nearly 100 jobs. That’s a conservative estimate as I have been in the workforce since 1983. Each time I quit a job it was because a supervisor was too harsh or a coworker too difficult to get along with. I perceive everything a coworker says to me when correcting my performance as coming with disapproval. I end up taking it personally which sets off the RSD, leaving me fuming and ready to walk out or fight the coworker. All they were trying to do was help me do my job better. Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria is a new term emerging in the JIM CLARK Groundcover vendor No. 139 someone with RSD delivers an overdose of stress hormones which cause emotional agony and physical discomfort. RSD brings the chemistry together to make rejection/criticism feel like a vicious personal attack. RSD resembles other process addictions where the key identifier is unmanageability. Those that have it can’t “suck it up” and control it. It can produce a nevneuro-psychology field. It is believed to be a disruption in the brain between the emotional center, the amygdala, and the reasoning area or neocortex. Although not an official diagnosis, medical experts use this phrase to describe it as a sub-condition of ADHD. Its symptoms include low self-esteem and self-doubt, bursts of anger and sadness, negative self-talk, finding it draining to engage in socializing, and/or suddenly becoming quiet and moody. The main characteristic of RSD is a severe negative reaction to rejection and criticism. For most people, rejection and criticism hurt. For someone with RSD, that little sting of shame feels like a red-hot iron. Living with RSD can feel like a constant sunburn. The brain of er-ending cycle of negative self-talk and self-sabotage. Once referred to as “feeling sorry for oneself” or “beating oneself up,” this particular disorder is a silent killer. As a person recovering from alcoholism and who has the symptoms of RSD, I can tell you there is a very clear link between RSD and homelessness. Like many people, for me, being housed is dependent on being employed. The likelihood of someone with RSD spontaneously quitting a job is high. As a result, rent becomes difficult if not impossible to pay. They fall behind and are either evicted or simply abandon the lease. This has happened to me countless times. For example, I graduated college in 2007 where I studied to be a high school math teacher. Very noble profession, a very gutsy subject to teach, and very dumb for someone with RSD. The students ate me alive. In 2013 I had a mental DECEMBER 1, 2023 Me and my RSD (Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria) breakdown which resulted in a relapse and three months of homelessness. Today I am aware of my condition. By practicing mindfulness, I can keep tabs on my emotional climate and keep myself focused. I look back on my life and see how much of it now makes sense in the light of this disorder. I am much gentler on myself and have learned to simply say thank you any time someone corrects me. I am among a few fortunate people who have been able to cultivate awareness of how my mental health affects the way I see reality. Mindfulness is a key element when struggling with any executive functioning issue. The conversation about homelessness and mental illness goes on. We have made the connection, now it’s time to solve the problem. What can the mentally ill do when their ability to navigate the “normal” world fails? People with mental illness simply need a break. Once we are diagnosed with a condition that may make employment difficult, we need some form of accommodation if we are to participate in society. Some mental illnesses are understood and can be treated, but many cannot. If employers could be prepared for this, many lives would be changed for the better. In loving memory of Cynthia Richards November 23, 1989 - November 20, 2023 Cynthia Richards, vendor No. 537, sold Groundcover during the summer of 2021. After moving to Florida that same year, she remained in contact, often calling the office and sharing updates about her and her children. Cynthia was a fierce protector of her family and sold the paper to make ends meet. We remember her quickly getting the hang of sales because of her friendly and hard-working nature. "When I think of Cynthia, I think of a person that was a fighter, go getter, and a person who loved her children — even though she was going through what she was going through in life. Believe it or not, she was working to be a better woman for them. Even though she had a lot of hurt in her heart, she was always a cheerful person, laughing, cracking jokes and just being a bundle of joy. She was a loyal person, even to people that weren't particularly loyal to her. I'm going to miss you even though you're not going to be forgotten. She left three children, a sister, a brother, her mother and multiple communities behind that truly loved her. She will be missed, but never forgotten. She's an angel in heaven now." — Joe Woods, Groundcover vendor No. 103. Cynthia, Joe Woods and Kelsey.
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