fear of rejection essay

Fear Of Rejection: Its Origin, Effects, And How To Overcome It

Home | Blog | Self-esteem | Fear Of Rejection: Its Origin, Effects, And How To Overcome It

• Published: August 7, 2020

Many of us have a fear of rejection and tend to avoid rejection by all means. Being rejected, and feeling rejected, is one of the most painful experiences most of us go through at some point in our lives. It makes us feel like a failure, judged, and not accepted by the people we care about.

Avoiding rejection, however, does come at a great cost. It can limit you from reaching your goals in many areas of life. Think about it – you could have written a book, but you didn’t because you fear people will not buy your book. You could have landed a business deal, but it failed because you are too nervous and thought, “What if they do not like me or my ideas?”

In her 30 years of experience working with clients all over the world, time and again, Marisa has been observing how avoiding rejection is only making the fear stronger. According to Marisa, the most effective and fastest way to overcome the fear of rejection is by working with the root cause that is hidden in your mind . 

In this article, you will learn:

• What fear of rejection is
• How it can affect your life
• Why are we afraid of rejection
• How to use the power of the mind to overcome the fear of rejection

Let’s get started by discussing exactly what a fear of rejection is.

What Is Fear Of Rejection?

The fear of rejection name is Anthropophobia. It is being afraid of unacceptance by the people around you. It could be you are scared of people not accepting your appearance, behaviors, the way you speak, or even your presence. 

In real-life, being scared of rejection could look like this:

‘ I am going to talk to my manager today and see if she is willing to raise my salary. Oh, but James has better results than me. What if my manager does not think I deserve the raise? What if I cannot convince her? I should just keep this to myself… ’

There are many other ways this fear can show up in your life. 

Some of the common signs and symptoms of being scared of rejection are:

• Difficulty saying ‘no’ 
• Taking on too many tasks
• Refusing to ask for what you want and need
• Procrastinating or working inefficiently on projects
• Being overly sensitive to criticism
• Difficulty making new friends unless you are sure they will like you
• Being reluctant to commit to and make a relationship work
• Working too hard to please others
• Blaming yourself when things don’t work out
• Staying in an unhealthy relationship
• Hiding your true self from others

How Can Fear Of Rejection Affect Your Life?

This fear could negatively affect various facets of our lives, including our careers , relationships, and self-confidence. 

• In business dealings. Instead of negotiating with a big client who is willing to pay more for your services, you lowered the fee and earned less than you deserve.
• In performance reviews. Instead of supporting your request for salary increments with performance data and asking to speak to the management, you decided to leave it up to their judgment. Therefore, you did not receive the appropriate bonuses and increments.

Relationships:

• In love and relationships, you do not speak up when your spouse tells you to do things against your will. As a consequence, your emotional needs do not get fulfilled and with time both of you may become distant.
• In friendship, you choose to adapt your communication style and behavior to blend within a group of friends and be accepted. Over time, you may feel like you are betraying yourself as you are not living by your true values. 

Self-confidence:

• When people criticize the way you look or talk, you feel inadequate or like a failure. As a result, you can have low self-esteem.
• You procrastinate taking action towards your dreams because you are afraid that people might reject your ideas. You think it is better to stay where you are because it is ‘safer.’

Why do Humans Fear Rejection?

Have you ever wondered where fear of rejection comes from, and why is it so strong? 

It turns out that this fear is deeply ingrained in our minds because, evolutionarily speaking, it used to help us survive. 

An evolutionary survival mechanism

Our need to belong and be accepted is rooted in human evolution. Thousands of years ago, it took an entire village to work together in order to survive in harsh conditions. Humans needed to be a part of a tribe to survive. If a person was socially rejected or kicked out of the village, they would die alone in the wild.

Although we do not live in dangerous environments anymore, our minds still associate rejection with death.

The reality is, rejection will not cause us death in this time and age. However, it still can bring forward feelings associated with the fear of dying. 

According to the way the mind works , what we say and imagine in our minds influences how we feel. Whenever rejection happens , the mind instantly thinks, ‘ I am going to die of shame if they reject me ’ or create images of you dying in shame. This is one of the main reasons why the possibility of being rejected can stir various negative emotions and prevent you from acting on your goals.

We are built to avoid pain

If you have touched a boiling kettle by accident before, you will most likely never repeat the same mistake again. From a young age, we learn to avoid pain to survive. For every painful experience, our mind remembers the pain and fires alarms whenever we face a similar situation. It will tell you ‘Do not touch that boiling kettle’ when you see one again. 

Similar to avoiding physical pain, humans would take any necessary measures to avoid the emotional pain associated with being rejected. In fact, a study by Naomi Eisenberger, a social psychologist, showed that rejection triggers the same brain regions that physical pain does . This means we avoid rejection just as we would avoid touching a boiling kettle.

Even though rejection causes us pain and discomfort, it does not harm us physically. It is a temporary emotion that comes and goes. If you choose to take action in spite of the fear, it will shrink in size, and you will become less afraid of rejection over time. 

We tend to be risk-averse

Imagine this scenario: a friend offers to flip a coin and give you $20 if it lands on tails. If it lands on heads, you give them $20. Would you take that risk?

You would probably consider taking the risk if you were sure you would win. This tendency reflects risk aversion — reluctance to take risks unless the payoff is certain. 

In the context of potentially experiencing fear of rejection, we are reluctant to risk our ‘lives’ being rejected by others because we are unsure of what people think of us . If we are sure we will not get rejected, most likely we would be brave enough to take action. 

You see, life is unpredictable and risks are bound to appear in every decision. It may feel scary to risk yourself being rejected, but taking risks is part of the journey towards success. If you are not willing to take risks, you cannot get anywhere. 

How To Overcome Fear Of Rejection Forever

Many people struggle with overcoming rejection because their subconscious minds and conscious minds are playing a constant tug of war. The conscious mind is fully aware that we want to conquer this fear and take action towards our dreams. The subconscious mind, however, does not know what we want. Its primary job is to keep us away from danger, including rejection.

Unfortunately, the subconscious mind wins the tug of war most of the time because it controls 95% of our thoughts and actions. When the time we need to act comes, the subconscious mind takes over with thoughts such as, ‘ Hey, you might get rejected. If you do, it is going to hurt you and kill you. Let’s go back to our comfort zone. ’ 

During the three decades as a therapist, Marisa Peer has helped thousands of people overcome their fear of rejection and get free from other limitations that were holding them back. According to Marisa, you are able to train your own mind to overcome the fear of rejection and you also can choose to use a therapeutic technique known for helping people with similar issues. 

3 ways to deal with the fear of rejection on your own

It is possible to learn how to handle rejection by taking the time to reflect on your experiences, think about how you approach them, and work out what you can take away from each experience to help you when facing future problematic situations. So read on to find out the 3 ways you can learn how to get over rejection.

1. Reframe rejection as opportunities

For every rejection you experience, there is a redirection to a different opportunity yet unknown to you. Whether you are rejected by an interviewer or a love interest, a new door is opened for you at the same time, leading you towards other opportunities.

Whenever you face rejection, remind yourself, ‘ I am not rejected, I am redirected to something greater. ’

2. Talk to yourself like a dear friend

Do not beat yourself up when things do not work out as you have planned. Treat yourself kinder and shower yourself with praises as if you are cheering a dear friend. 

Rather than allowing negative self-talk to happen, talk to yourself using more compassionate, affirming messages such as, ‘ I have what I need to get through this, ’ or ‘ I am stronger than I think. ’

3. Refuse to let rejection define you

Being rejected does not mean you are a failure. If one company turns you down, do not think that you are incompetent. If one person rejects you, do not think that you are unlovable.  

Other people’s opinions and incidents do not define you. The only person who can define you is you alone. An effective way to do this is to praise yourself daily and boost your self-esteem. The higher self-esteem you have, the more resilience you will develop against rejection.

The most effective way to overcome fear of rejection forever

The most effective way to overcoming rejection once and for all is to reprogram the subconscious mind to work with you and not against you using Rapid Transformational Therapy® (RTT®) , a complete solution-based approach created by celebrity therapist Marisa Peer over 30 years of working with people all over the world.

Rapid Transformational Therapy® (RTT®) combines the most powerful aspects of hypnosis, psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and more to help release your fears. It helps you go deep into your subconscious mind, access the root causes of issues you have been struggling with, and change the stories, words, and pictures in your mind.

RTT® can help you to overcome a fear of rejection in 3 simple steps:

• Hypnosis is used to help you get into a trance-like state and guide you to explore where the fear of rejection comes from.
• Rewriting pictures and words your mind associates with rejection with empowering ones.
• Making the new pictures and words familiar to your mind by repeating them to yourself every day and taking action. As a result, you will perceive things differently in your everyday life. 

With the guidance of a certified RTT® therapist , you can replace negative pictures and words associated with rejection with the ones that bring positive emotions such as happiness and fulfillment related to achieving your goals. 

This way, your subconscious mind will start associating rejection with safety and pleasure, and eventually, you will not be scared of rejection. 

What is RTT®?

RTT® is a revolutionary therapy method from world-renowned therapist Marisa Peer, who combines over 30 years of experience with the very best elements of today’s modern approaches to therapy, such as NLP, CBT and Hypnotherapy, to produce a focused method that can produce results a faster than you would expect.

How to get in Contact with an RTT® Therapist

Are you interested in receiving RTT® therapy? Do you think therapy is the best choice for you in helping you to overcome your blocks when it comes to self-esteem? Getting in touch with an RTT® therapist is easy. Simply click here to start your journey.

A Take-Home Message

According to Marisa, “ The mind has the most powerful healing potential on the planet .” It can help you live a fulfilled and successful life, and it can also hold you back in many ways. It all depends on the words you say and the pictures you imagine in your mind. 

Once you know how the mind works, it is easy for you to tap into its power and make it work with you and not against you. 

You can learn how to overcome feeling rejected by changing the words and pictures in your mind and relating the fear to pleasure. 

Rejection-proof yourself and unlock your inner confidence with a pre-recorded hypnotic audio bundle . These audio tracks will help you reprogram your mind, regain your natural confidence, and rebuild your self-esteem. 

If your fear of rejection stems from low-self esteem, you will benefit from Marisa Peer’s I Am Enough Masterclass , which can help you get to the root of that experience, let go of the negative emotions, and rewrite them with empowering ones.

You can improve your psychological and emotional well-being by developing better self-acceptance. All you need to make some mental shifts that open up your mind to accept yourself more. Sign up for the FREE I Am Enough Masterclass by clicking the banner below .

We hope this article has helped you learn how to handle rejection, and provided you with methods you can use to face tricky situations with a renewed confidence in the future. If you would like more from Marisa Peer, remember to subscribe to her regular newsletter by entering your email in the box at the bottom of this page.

• Fears and Phobias , Self-esteem

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AUTHOR: MARISA PEER

Marisa shares her 30 years of experience as a multi-award-winning therapist to celebrities, top athletes, and even royalty. She is the founder and creator of RTT®, the cutting-edge method and hybrid solution-based approach that can deliver extraordinary transformations.

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How to Conquer the Fear of Rejection

Rejection hurts but trying to prevent it comes at a higher cost..

Posted December 3, 2018 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

• What Is Fear?
• Find counselling to combat fear and anxiety

Rejection is a bitter pill to swallow. And most of us have had a good dose of it. Whether we didn’t get a job we applied for, weren’t admitted to our top choice college, didn’t make it to the team we tried out for, or didn’t score a second date with the person we were sure was going to become our soulmate, many of us have experienced rejection first hand. Hearing “no, not interested” doesn’t feel good. Regardless of how hard you want to look at the bright side of it, rejection doesn’t build character. It breaks hearts, it brings tears, and it raises fears. And that fear can stick and become a hard-to-remove stain.

Fear of rejection, or rejection sensitivity , as it is often referred to in the psychology literature, can become an obstacle to success and happiness . Research shows that fear of rejection can have a negative impact on emotional well-being, interpersonal relationships, and psychological functioning. It affects the way we feel about ourselves, the decisions that we make, and the goals we choose to pursue. Fear of rejection can make us think small and act even smaller.

All fears are evoked when after we appraise a stimulus, we find it dangerous and potentially harmful. Fear is the internal alarm system that we are equipped with and which exists to warn us against threats to our survival. In the past, survival meant staying alive. It meant not getting killed by a predator, a disease, a rival, or a natural disaster. And threats included anything that could literally cause death or serious harm.

But in a relatively safe, socially complex, and intellectually demanding world, the meaning of both survival and threat has changed significantly. For most people in the developed world, it is no longer our biological survival that we are preoccupied with on a daily basis. Our worries extend to beyond just staying alive. We still care about our physical health, but we also care about our mental, emotional, financial, relationship, or spiritual health and we want to protect them from any threats. And when any of these are threatened, fear arises.

So what is it that fear of rejection protects us from?

There are many answers to this question, the specifics of which only you can provide, based on what’s important to you and what your life looks like. Is there something, however, that is common in all rejection and that motivates us to want to keep it out of our realm of experience?

The commonality may be pain. We are generally hardwired to avoid pain, whether it is physical or emotional. Pain is associated with harm, invasion, and potential damage. Pain is a signal that we should avoid, correct, or withdraw from a situation. It is easy to imagine how this plays out with physical pain. If your coffee is so hot that it burns your tongue, you wait until it cools down. And the beautiful thing about our brains is that they register those painful events, so we can avoid them in the future, and prevent harm. We learn what’s causing us pain and we take steps to protect ourselves from it. The same is true about emotional pain. We, consciously or unconsciously, avoid entering situations or creating circumstances that could get our feelings hurt. In fact, the brain centers that register the magnitude of pain and the subjective experience of pain are closely connected.

What does that have to do with rejection? Rejection hurts. There is evidence that rejection is, in fact, a painful experience. In a study conducted in 2010, DeWall and colleagues tested the effect of a painkiller on the emotional pain caused by social rejection. Their participants were randomly assigned to take either a painkiller or a placebo pill each day for three weeks. Those who took the active pill, reported a reduction in hurt feelings over time, in contrast to those who took the placebo, whose intensity of hurt feelings remained unchanged. They took their study a step further and used neuroimaging to see what happens in the brain during a situation that they set up to create feelings of social exclusion. They found that the participants who took the painkiller showed less activity in the brain regions associated with the subjective experience of pain than those who took the placebo.

This doesn’t mean that the cure for fear of rejection is taking painkillers. It means that emotional pain is a natural response to rejection. This may also explain why we tend to avoid situations in which we expect to be rejected. Consciously or unconsciously, we stay away from people, places, and events that we have associated with rejection either through experience or based on expectation. And that fear and the subsequent avoidant behavior can have a serious impact on the goals we seek to accomplish and the life we aim to build.

So, what can we do to handle fear of rejection?

First, identify the fearful stimulus. That is, become aware of the situations or circumstances that we are actively avoiding because we worry that they will lead to rejection. What ideas are we not sharing because we worry that others won’t embrace them? What requests are we not making because we worry they will be denied? What steps are we not taking toward a goal because we worry that we will be exposed and vulnerable? What “no’s” are we afraid to hear?

Second, turn avoidance into action. If a goal still seems important and meaningful, take steps toward achieving it, even if that increases the risk of rejection. Avoiding is safer and less painful. Without an “ask,” there is no rejection. But without it, there is no acceptance either.

Third, remind ourselves that the pain caused by rejection is a normal feeling and that it will pass, just like any other painful sensation or feeling. We can’t fully control whether our ideas, our proposals, our applications, or our pitches will be rejected because rejection is in the hands of others. But we can control the intensity of our emotions and we can train ourselves to become emotionally stronger. Being a good emotion regulator is one of the cornerstones of emotional intelligence .

And finally, reframe rejection as an opportunity to improve our approaches and tactics. There are many reasons why we did not get a “yes” this time. The timing might not have been right, we may not be a good fit, we may not have been thorough enough in our preparation, we may not have presented the best sample of our work, the people who rejected us may have their own needs, biases or limitations. The list of situational factors is endless. It is easy to personalize rejection and think of it as a reflection of who we are and what we are capable of, as opposed to what we did and how can we do it better next time. Changing what we do is easier than changing who we are. And people will evaluate us by what we do.

All in all, rejection doesn’t feel good. But letting the fear of rejection dictate what we accomplish in our lives can make us feel even worse in the future. After all, no pain, no gain.

Theo Tsaousides, Ph.D. is a neuropsychologist, assistant professor, and author of the book Brainblocks: Overcoming the Seven Hidden Barriers to Success .

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Scott Cochrane

Overcome the Fear of Rejection by Leveraging Courage

TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE

Leaders make progress by stepping forward with new ideas, new initiatives and new directions.

So, why is it that leaders will sometimes shrink back? What is it that causes leaders to stall, even though they might possess a breakthrough idea?

Often this hesitation is labeled a “fear of failure.” But more often, it is a “fear of rejection.”

In his groundbreaking book, Rejection Proof , and in his inspiring talk at the 2019 Global Leadership Summit, Jia Jiang pointed out that the fear of rejection is a sometimes debilitating malady that can inhibit even the most accomplished leader.

The fear of rejection comes in all shapes and sizes:

• You have developed an idea that has the potential to add great value to your team’s goals. But it’s a new way of thinking; would they accept an idea so different from what they have tried?
• You want to launch a new project that would require new resources, but which could solve important problems. But would the necessary resources be approved?
• The team seems to be committed to a plan that you believe could be improved. You can see a better way forward. But would anyone want to deviate from the current plan?

In each scenario, the option not to step forward is driven by a fear of rejection. And it will stall your leadership every time.

The option not to step forward is driven by a fear of rejection. And it will stall your leadership every time.

Early in my career, while working for a media company, an important division in our company unexpectedly found itself leaderless. With almost no notice, the leader of the division left the company leaving a sudden void.

As I sat at my desk that day, I found my mind racing with ideas as to how I would rebuild that division if I were ever to have the chance to lead.

But other voices in my head were telling me not to put my name forward. “You’re too young and inexperienced,” I told myself. “They will laugh you out of the office. Why put yourself in the position where you could be embarrassed?”

But another voice also came to mind. It was a voice from Scripture that reminded me: For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline . (2 Timothy 1:7)

Fueled by that reminder, I humbly, but confidently walked into my boss’s office and asked to be considered for that vacant role. An hour later, I emerged as the director of that division.

As you learn to pay attention to the voice of courage, you will find that it can soon drown out all other voices.

The fear of rejection has never left me, and in leadership the fear of rejection will likely never leave you either. But if you are a person of faith, the reminder of the spirit of courage you have been given can drown out those fears.

So, the next time you find yourself developing a new idea, a new initiative or a new direction, don’t be surprised if the fear of rejection emerges. And when it does, choose instead to listen to the voice that calls out your spirit of courage.

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Global Leadership Network

Scott Cochrane serves as Vice President of International at the Global Leadership Network. An insightful and genuine leader, he travels the globe mentoring international teams. Prior to joining the GLN, he was the executive pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Kelowna, British Columbia, and provided leadership to the Global Leadership Network Canada.

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The Wonders

• Nov 29, 2023

11 Ways To Move Beyond The Fear Of Rejection

Updated: Dec 5, 2023

Ever had that crippling feeling in your gut when you think about being rejected? Maybe it's the fear of not being good enough or worrying about what others might think. Well, you're not alone, and we're here to inform you about it in a simple and compassionate way.

The fear of rejection is a common human experience that can shape our actions, bonds, and even our perception of self-worth. This fear can be like an uninvited guest at life's party. But you know what? Understanding fear is the first step to showing it the door.

So, grab a metaphorical cup of tea, get cozy, and let's delve into the nuances of the fear of rejection, its manifestations, and 11 practical ways to comprehend and overcome it.

Table of Contents:

1. What Is the Fear of Rejection?

2. Common Manifestations Of The Fear Of Rejection

3. 11 Ways To Understand And Overcome The Fear Of Rejection

3.1. Self-Reflection And Awareness

3.2. Challenge Negative Thoughts

3.3. Embrace Imperfection

3.4. Develop Resilience

3.5. Gradual Exposure

3.6. Seek Support

3.7. Focus On Self-Worth

3.8. Learn From Rejection

3.9. Set Realistic Expectations

3.10. Practice Mindfulness

3.11. Professional Help

4. Conclusion

What Is The Fear Of Rejection?

The fear of rejection is a potent and universal emotional response rooted in the human need for social acceptance. It revolves around the fear of being dismissed, disapproved, or excluded by others, triggering anxiety and discomfort.

This fear often originates from a deep-seated desire for connection and belonging, making it a fundamental aspect of human interaction. Whether in personal relationships or professional settings, the fear of rejection can influence thoughts, behaviors, and decision-making processes.

It manifests in various ways, from avoiding social situations to seeking constant approval, and can significantly impact self-esteem and overall well-being. Understanding and addressing the fear of rejection is crucial for fostering healthy relations, personal growth , and emotional resilience.

Common Manifestations Of The Fear Of Rejection

The fear of rejection can manifest in numerous ways, and its impact is not limited to a specific demographic or age group.

Some common manifestations include:

1. Avoidance:

Individuals experiencing the fear of rejection often find themselves avoiding social situations or opportunities that involve potential judgment or evaluation by others. This avoidance can extend to new bonds, group activities, or professional endeavors.

The avoidance strategy might provide a temporary sense of relief, but it limits personal growth and the chance to form meaningful connections.

2. Perfectionism:

A perfectionistic approach may develop as individuals strive for flawlessness to shield themselves from potential rejection. They believe that if they can attain perfection, they will be immune to criticism or disapproval.

The pursuit of perfection can be relentless and exhausting, leading to heightened anxiety and self-criticism when unrealistic standards are not met.

3. Constant Approval-Seeking:

Individuals grappling with the fear of rejection often engage in constant approval-seeking behavior. They seek reassurance and validation from others to alleviate their anxieties about being rejected.

This behavior can strain relations, as the constant need for approval may be perceived as demanding or clingy.

4. Low Self-Esteem:

Chronic fear of rejection can contribute to the development of low self-esteem. Individuals may internalize rejection experiences, leading to a negative self-perception and diminished self-worth.

Low self-esteem can affect various aspects of life, including personal bonds, career aspirations, and overall well-being.

5. Difficulty Expressing Authenticity:

The fear of rejection might compel individuals to suppress their authentic selves. They may present a curated version of themselves, believing that revealing their true thoughts and feelings may lead to rejection.

This suppression can hinder genuine connections, as others may interact with a version of the individual that is not fully authentic.

Understanding these manifestations is crucial because it allows individuals to recognize patterns in their behavior and thought processes. It opens the door to self-reflection and empowers individuals to take steps toward overcoming the fear of rejection .

11 Ways To Understand And Overcome The Fear Of Rejection

1. self-reflection and awareness:.

Self-reflection is a cornerstone in understanding the fear of rejection. Take a moment to explore your thoughts, emotions, and past experiences that may contribute to this fear.

Identify patterns in your reactions to situations involving potential rejection. Increased self-awareness provides valuable insights into the root causes of the fear and serves as a foundation for targeted efforts to address and manage it.

2. Challenge Negative Thoughts:

Negative thoughts often fuel the fear of rejection. Challenging these thoughts involves actively questioning their validity and replacing them with more realistic and positive perspectives.

Consider the evidence supporting and contradicting these negative thoughts. This cognitive restructuring empowers individuals to reshape their thinking patterns and reduce the emotional impact of perceived rejection.

3. Embrace Imperfection:

Perfectionism is closely linked to the fear of rejection. Embracing imperfection involves acknowledging that nobody is flawless, and that's perfectly okay.

Understand that making mistakes or facing rejection doesn't diminish your value as a person. Cultivate self-compassion and recognize that growth often comes from navigating challenges, not avoiding them.

4. Develop Resilience:

Building resilience is crucial in overcoming the fear of rejection. Resilience involves the ability to bounce back from setbacks, learn, and grow from experiences.

Recognize that rejection is a part of life, but it doesn't define your worth. Develop coping mechanisms, such as positive self-talk and a growth mindset , to navigate challenges with resilience and grace.

5. Gradual Exposure:

Gradual exposure to situations that trigger the fear of rejection is a systematic and controlled way to desensitize the emotional response over time.

Start with small, manageable steps that slightly push your comfort zone and gradually increase exposure as your confidence grows. This approach helps build tolerance to the anxiety associated with potential rejection.

6. Seek Support:

Don't face the fear of rejection alone; seek support from friends, family, or professionals. Talking about your fears with someone you trust provides an outlet for expression and understanding.

A supportive network can offer valuable insights, encouragement, and different perspectives, reinforcing that you're not alone in this journey.

7. Focus On Self-Worth:

Shift the focus from external validation to internal self-worth. Recognize your inherent value and detach it from the opinions or actions of others.

Cultivate a sense of self-love and acceptance that is independent of external validation. Affirm your worthiness irrespective of external judgments.

8. Learn From Rejection:

Instead of viewing rejection as a defeat, view it as a learning opportunity. Analyze the situation objectively, identifying areas for growth and improvement.

Understand that rejection doesn't necessarily reflect personal shortcomings; it may be a misalignment of values, timing, or circumstances. Extract valuable lessons from rejection experiences to fuel personal development.

9. Set Realistic Expectations:

Setting realistic expectations for yourself and others can alleviate the fear of rejection. Understand that not every interaction will result in acceptance, and that's perfectly normal.

Realistic expectations foster a healthier mindset , reducing the emotional impact of perceived rejection and promoting a more balanced perspective on social dynamics.

10. Practice Mindfulness:

Mind management through mindfulness techniques can be effective in reducing anxiety associated with the fear of rejection. Practices such as meditation , deep breathing, and staying present in the moment help regulate thoughts and emotions.

Mindfulness habits encourage a non-judgmental awareness of thoughts and feelings, providing a valuable tool for maintaining emotional balance.

11. Professional Help:

In some cases, seeking professional help from therapists or counselors may be beneficial. They can provide tailored strategies and support to address the root causes of the fear of rejection.

Professional guidance offers a structured and personalized approach to navigating and overcoming this fear, providing individuals with effective tools for lasting change.

Understanding the fear of rejection is a journey of self-discovery and personal growth. By acknowledging its presence, exploring its roots, and implementing practical strategies, individuals can empower themselves to navigate social and professional spheres with greater confidence and resilience.

Embracing imperfection, seeking support, and fostering self-worth are pivotal steps toward transforming the fear of rejection into an opportunity for self-improvement and authentic connection with others.

1. What is the root cause of the fear of rejection?

The fear of rejection often stems from a deep-seated need for social acceptance and a fear of not being valued or loved by others.

2. How does mind management play a role in overcoming the fear of rejection?

Mind management involves techniques such as mindfulness that help individuals regulate their thoughts and emotions, contributing to a more balanced and resilient mindset in the face of rejection.

3. Can the fear of rejection impact relationships?

Yes, the fear of rejection can significantly impact relationships by influencing behavior, communication patterns, and the ability to form deep connections.

4. Is it possible to completely eliminate the fear of rejection?

While complete elimination may be challenging, understanding and managing the fear of rejection is achievable through self-awareness, resilience-building, and targeted strategies.

5. How does understanding fear contribute to overcoming it?

Understanding fear is the foundation for developing effective strategies. By identifying its roots and manifestations, individuals can implement targeted approaches to overcome the fear of rejection.

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A Three Step Process to Overcome the Fear of Writing Rejection

This post continues our series  The Smart Scholar  by Ramon Goings .

“I just don’t want to submit my work because I’m scared of rejection.”

When conducting doctoral and faculty writing support sessions, I consistently get some form of the above quote. Often, for dissertation writers, it stems from being afraid that their chair will give them harsh feedback. Those writing for peer-review publication often discuss a fear of critique from the infamous “reviewer number two” who often provides challenging and conflicting reviews of their work when compared to the other reviewers.

Based on my CV, folks may assume that I have figured out academic writing as I have been successful writing for publication. However, I too struggle and have certainly had my fair share of harsh critiques from “reviewer number two.” Additionally, when I started my career, I was scared of rejection.

Recently in a webinar I had a participant ask, “Well, how did you overcome fear of rejection?” This blog post is in response to this question as I share a three-step process I use to work through the fear of rejection.

Step 1: Address the Root of the Fear

From my work supporting academic writers I have found that a fear about rejection is never about the process of writing and submitting the work itself. In many instances the fear of rejection is a symptom of a deeper issue. Thus, in order to overcome the fear of rejection I have found that it is important to first address the root of the fear.

Early in my career there were three main reasons I had a fear of rejection:

• I did not believe in myself as a writer and that I had something unique to contribute to the scholarly conversation.
• I was intimidated that my work could be published and in conversation with the great authors that I was referencing in my paper.
• I internalized the rejection as it holding some value about who I was and the quality of my work.

As you can see from my experience the root causes of my fear of writing rejection had nothing to do with the process of writing, but had everything to do with my mindset. Once I got clearer about what was causing my fear it became easier to plan for and address the fear (see Step 2 below).

Step 2: Plan for the Rejection

The psychology of academic writers is rather interesting as we are motivated and plan for the success of our academic writing. However, why do we not plan for rejection as well? I have found it beneficial  to put a plan in place so that if a piece is rejected, I know what my next steps are with the paper.

In a doctoral seminar course I am teaching this semester titled “Seminar in Research Writing, Publication, and Communication in Education,” one of my assignments asks for students to write an Op-Ed. During our conversation, we discussed rejection, and I gave this advice on how to plan for it:

• Before you write your piece, have three venues in mind that you want to submit to.
• Submit to venue #1. If rejected, immediately submit to venue #2. If rejected from venue #2, submit immediately to venue #3.
• If your piece does not get accepted at the first three venues, find three more outlets and repeat the process.

As I teach my students: there is always a venue for your work. Sometimes it is just exploring all of your options to find the right fit. As a result, by planning for rejection you are actually planning for the success of your writing project. Again, this is not about writing, but just shifting your thinking.

Step 3: Build Your Writing Community

Do you have a scholarly community who you can vent to and strategize with?

Having this scholarly cohort has been critical to my ability to overcome the fear of rejection of my academic writing. Whenever I have thoughts or fears about submitting my work, I go to my community and do the following:

• Talk: I dialogue and vent about my apprehension on submitting my work.
• Write: After my conversations with my community, I turn that fear into energy to write–even if only a little. This helps me to not let my fears of rejection paralyze me from writing.
• Submit: I have adopted the mantra “You can’t score a basket if you don’t shoot.” In other words, I can never get a paper accepted if I never submit, so if I want an acceptance I must submit.

Based on your experiences, how have you overcome a fear of rejection of your academic writing? Connect with me on Twitter to discuss!

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of Interfolio.

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Personal Reflection: Overcoming Fear and Growing as a Person

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My experience with overcoming fear, the importance of self-reflection, the role of relationships in personal development, the value of personal responsibility.

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How to Deal With the Fear of Failure

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Rachel Goldman, PhD FTOS, is a licensed psychologist, clinical assistant professor, speaker, wellness expert specializing in eating behaviors, stress management, and health behavior change.

Verywell / Jiaqi Zhou

Characteristics of the Fear of Failure

• Identifying

Causes of the Fear of Failure

Treatment for fear of failure, coping with fear of failure.

The fear of failure, also known as atychiphobia , is an irrational and persistent fear of failing. This fear can stem from a number of sources. Sometimes it might emerge in response to a specific situation. In other cases, it might be related to another mental health condition such as anxiety or depression .

The fear of failure may also be related to being a perfectionist . Because perfectionists have such high expectations for how they expect things to turn out, they may experience a nagging fear that they won't live up to those often unrealistically high standards.

This article discusses the signs of a fear of failure and what causes this fear. It also explores treatments that can help and how to prevent this fear from holding you back.

Get Help Now

We've tried, tested, and written unbiased reviews of the best online therapy programs including Talkspace, BetterHelp, and ReGain. Find out which option is the best for you.

A fear of failure can produce emotional and behavioral symptoms. Some of the common signs of this fear include:

• Feeling a loss of control
• Helplessness
• Powerlessness

In addition to emotional and behavioral symptoms, people with a fear of failure may also experience physical symptoms including rapid heart rate, chest tightness, trembling, dizziness, lightheadedness, sweating, and digestive problems.

Identifying the Fear of Failure

The fear of failure may affect people in a variety of ways, which means that it's not always easy to identify. Some of the ways that people may experience the fear of failure include:

• Believing that you don't have the skills or knowledge to achieve something
• Feeling like you won't be able to achieve your goals
• Procrastinating to the point that it affects your performance or ability to finish on time
• Telling people that you will probably fail so that expectations remain low
• Underestimating your own abilities to avoid feeling let down
• Worrying that imperfections or shortcomings will make other people think less of you
• Worrying that you will disappoint others if you fail

In some cases, the fear of failure may cause people to avoid trying altogether. Because they are so afraid that they will try and not succeed, they simply decide not to try at all in order to prevent potential pain, embarrassment, or disappointment.

Atychiphobia

While fear of failure is not listed as a distinct condition in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) , it is possible that you might be diagnosed with a specific phobia if your symptoms meet certain diagnostic criteria. In order to be diagnosed with a specific phobia, your symptoms must:

• Involve excessive and unreasonable fear
• Involve an immediate anxiety response
• Be marked by avoidance or extreme distress 
• Limit your ability to function normally
• Last as least six months and not be due to another condition

A fear of failure can have a wide variety of causes. Some potential causes include:

Critical Upbringing

People who grow up in households that are highly critical or unsupportive may be more likely to experience a fear of failure. Because they felt that they could never live up to their family's expectations during childhood, they may continue to fear making mistakes as adults. 

Definitions of Failure

People often have different definitions of what failure means. For some people, it means not achieving something exactly as they planned. This can create a set of expectations that is very difficult to live up to.

Anxiety is also influenced by genetic factors. If members of your family also have anxiety conditions, you might be more likely to develop fears and anxieties yourself.

Perfectionism

Fear of failure sometimes stems from perfectionism. When people have extremely high standards, it often seems like nothing lives up to their expectations. This includes their own performance and achievements. Because they fear not reaching the high standards they've set, they may experience an intense fear of failing.

People who experienced a difficult or even traumatic failure may also be very afraid of repeating that experience in the future.

Having a panic attack during a presentation or being ridiculed for your performance, for example, could contribute to feelings of fear. Negative consequences resulting from failure, such as losing a job or not getting into a college, can also be risk factors that contribute to the fear of failure.

While everyone may be afraid of failing from time to time, it becomes more serious when it inhibits your ability to pursue your goals and achieve the things you want to accomplish in life.

Impact of the Fear of Failure

A fear of failure can take a toll on a person’s belief in their abilities and their motivation to pursue their goals. 

• Low self-esteem : People who fear failure may also engage in negative self-talk or have low self-confidence that makes it difficult to pursue goals. 
• Poor motivation : When people fear failure, they may also experience a lack of motivation that makes it difficult to get started on projects and work toward goals. When something seems too challenging or involves learning new skills, people may simply give up or refuse to get involved.
• Self-sabotage : It isn't uncommon for people who fear failure to engage in acts of self-handicapping that undermine their own chances of success. Research has found, for example, that students who fear failing often engage in self-handicapping behaviors that actually limit academic success and perpetuate failure.   
• Shame : The fear of failure often stems from a fear of experiencing shame or embarrassment. Failing can trigger feelings worthlessness , so avoiding trying in the first place can sometimes serve as a way to protect the self from disappointment, regret, and sadness.

Treatment for the fear of failure depends on a variety of factors including how you experience this fear and the impact that it has on your life. In many cases, people can use self-help strategies to cope with these feelings. 

If your fear of failure is impeding your ability to function normally, it is important to talk to a professional. Treatment options for a fear of failure might include:

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy can help you address the thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that contribute to a fear of failure. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a type of therapy that helps people identify and change negative thought patterns that contribute to feelings of fear. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) may also be helpful.

Medications

Medications may be prescribed to help you manage feelings of anxiety or depression that might be linked to your fear. Selective-serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a type of antidepressant that are commonly prescribed to treat mood conditions and anxiety. Anti-anxiety medications, such as Xanax (alprazolam) and Ativan (lorazepam), may also be prescribed.

In many cases, a combination of these two treatment options with lifestyle changes may be the most effective

There are also a number of strategies that you can use to help reduce feelings of fear about failure. Some of these include:

Consider the Outcomes

Sometimes thinking about the worst possible outcome—and then coming up with a plan for how you’ll deal with it—can help reduce anxiety when you are pursuing your goals. 

Focus on the Things You Can Control

Instead of worrying about aspects of the situation that you have no power over, focus your energy on things that you can control. 

When you are facing a challenge that might trigger your fear of failing, work on developing alternative plans just in case your initial efforts don’t go as planned. Having a plan B (or plan C) can help you feel less anxious and more secure.

Redefine Failure

Changing how you think about failure may also help reduce your feelings of fear. Failure is part of life and can be an important opportunity to learn and acquire new skills.

It can certainly be disappointing, but it is important to maintain a healthy perspective toward the potential benefits of failing from time to time. Remember that success is often reached through a series of progressive failures that lead to new information, skills, and strategies.

Use Positive Thinking

Avoid negative self-talk that can undermine your confidence and create feelings of anxiety. Instead, work on thinking more like an optimist to keep your motivation high.

Visualization May Backfire

While visualization is often touted as a tool for success, research actually shows that this motivational strategy can backfire with people who have a high fear of failure. One study found that people with a strong fear of failing experienced strong negative moods after they engaged in an activity that involved visualizing success.

A Word From Verywell

The fear of failure is something that everyone experiences from time to time, but this can become much more problematic when such feelings become persistent. Practice self-compassion and work on taking small steps toward building your confidence and managing your fears.

American Psychiatric Association.  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , 5th ed . Washington, DC; 2013.

Meier SM, Deckert J. Genetics of anxiety disorders . Curr Psychiatry Rep . 2019;21(3):16. doi:10.1007/s11920-019-1002-7

Kelly JD 4th. Your best life: Perfectionism--the bane of happiness . Clin Orthop Relat Res . 2015;473(10):3108-11. doi:10.1007/s11999-015-4279-9

Bartels JM, Herman WE.  Fear of failure, self-handicapping, and negative emotions in response to failure ; 2011.

Hjeltnes A, Binder PE, Moltu C, Dundas I. Facing the fear of failure: An explorative qualitative study of client experiences in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for university students with academic evaluation anxiety . Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being . 2015;10:27990. doi:10.3402/qhw.v10.27990

Langens TA. Tantalizing fantasies: positive imagery induces negative mood in individuals high in fear of failure . Imagination, Cognition and Personality . 2002;21(4):281-292. doi:10.2190/HGH6-3RM6-2VCG-YCQH

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Perth Counselling  •  Individual Psychotherapy  •  Couples Therapy  •  Sex Therapy  •  Skype Counselling

Fear of Rejection

Adele wilde, counsellor and psychotherapist perth, western australia.

8 Bold Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Writing

by Sarah Gribble | 0 comments

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Today I want to talk about fear. Fear of writing, fear of sharing your work, fear of publishing—and how you can overcome it.

Writers face fear on a day-to-day basis.

The self-doubt . The fear of failure. And, oh, the vulnerability.

Writing is hard enough with all the self-evaluation and doubt about your abilities. But then sharing your work with other people so they can critique or review it? CRINGE.

When you sink into that fear it debilitates you. If you let fear hold you back, you’re ensuring you never achieve your goals. You’ll never write that book and you’ll never get published. All because you were too scared.

8 Ways to Overcome Your Fear of Writing

It’s time to stop letting fear control you and get writing. Here’s how:

1. Do what scares you.

When you’re up against something that makes you cringe, ask yourself what the worst-case scenario is. Is it actually  harmful? Unless it’s something like jumping from a bridge into a rocky river or stepping in front of a speeding vehicle, it’s probably not.

Fear is trying to keep you safe. It needs to learn that just because something is scary doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s detrimental to your health. Do what scares you, and keep doing it, and the fear will subside.

This includes fear of our own writing. I'm not saying you have to go write a 90,000 word novel. Start with a short story, or try out some writing prompts.

Aspiring writers might feel intiimdated because they don't think that they are a great writer. The reality is, you can never become a great writer unless you practice—and to practice, you have to write.

Embrace and overcome your fear by putting words down. Start writing, have patience with yourself, and worry about the rest later.

The blank page becomes way less scary as soon as you put words on it.

2. Stop procrastinating.

Your house is already clean enough. That TV show can wait. No, you don’t need to run to the store to pick up a bag of chips.

Figure out when the best time for you to write is and then write.

If you really, truly need a break to clear your mind, set a time limit. Ten minutes of scrubbing the grout with a toothbrush and then get back to your writing.

Ultimately, those who procrastinate will be more prone to writing off procrastination as writer's block—and the more time you spend away from writing, the scary it will become.

3. Learn from criticism.

Criticism is what everyone fears. Not just in writing, but in life. We all want to be liked, to be perfect, to be praised.

Your writing will not please everyone and that’s something you should realize and accept now. Criticism is much easier to take when you go into it knowing that fact.

Don’t just ignore criticism, though. Writing is like everything else in that it requires practice. You don't have to rank #1 on Amazon or make a bestseller list your first go (even though I won't argue that would be fantastic).

The first meal you cooked wasn’t a gourmet meal. The first time you dribbled a basketball wasn’t Lebron-level. Someone was there to point out what you were doing wrong and set you on the right path. They taught you how to get better.

That’s what criticism is: teaching.

It's not  rejecting your work, which might be why some writers fail to share their work: because their fear of rejection is mistakenly associated with getting critiques.

Yes, sometimes it’s mean-spirited, especially in this age of internet trolls. But even in those nasty reviews, there’s normally something to learn from.

Find it. Use it. And do better next time.

4. Stop revising.

You want every sentence in your work to be perfect . I have a secret for you: you’ll never get there.

Your writing will never be perfect. 

Not to you, not to your editors, and not to your readers. It’s impossible, so stop revising ad nauseam. At some point, you have to let it go and put the work out there.

Perfectionism can stunt your creative writing instead of empower it.

To avoid this, set a limit. I prefer three drafts. That’s it. Three and then I let it fly on its own.

What are you writing for? We'll never know unless you decide to share your work.

5. Set goals and move toward them.

Focus on milestones like daily word counts and deadlines (self-imposed or otherwise).

Writing a book is like summiting a mountain: you do it  one step at a time . When you reach the top you might be a little exhausted and out of breath, but you’ll look back at all you’ve accomplished and feel proud.

Without these smaller milestones, it might be hard to finish your piece of writing, or even find the motivation to keep writing each day.

Stories are finished one day at a time, with hard work and a desire to grow your writing process.

Don't sweat the small stuff in your first drafts, like word choice. Instead, set a long term goal of continually learning how to write better and smaller milestones that will help you finish stories you start.

All of this is accomplished word by word, and by turning real and irrational fears into manageable tasks.

6. Embrace the fear of writing.

You’re going to be scared frequently in this business. My stomach still flips every time I submit a short story , even though I’ve submitted hundreds of times. It’s going to happen.

The trick is to acknowledge it and move forward. It didn’t kill you.

In fact, that little tingle of fear should be your signal to celebrate. You did what scared you and that’s amazing.

One book that a lot of writers really love on this subject is The War of Art  by Steven Pressfield. If you're feeling discouraged or swallowed by your fear, check out this book for some motivation.

Even better, find and join a writing group like we have here at The Write Practice. Nothing helps you overcome your fears like a supportive community with a kindred creative spirit.

7. If your character can do it, so can you.

You don’t let your characters sit back on their heels because they’re scared, do you? I hope not, because if you do, you don’t have a story .

Your characters don’t have the luxury of sitting on the bench. They must make decisions and do something about the problem. And so should you.

Don’t let fear of writing take over your writing life. Decide to move forward, to write that book, to send out that manuscript. Decide and then do it.

8. Ask for help if you need it.

Don’t be afraid to ask for time to yourself so that you can write. Your family and friends will understand you need that time because writing is important to you.

Find a group of writers and readers that can go through your story and give constructive feedback. You can't improve in a vacuum.

Need to know what a day in the life of a flight attendant looks like, or the lingo of a truck driver? Ask them. Trust me, you’re not bothering them. People love talking about themselves.

In the same vein, if you need help with research, that’s literally what librarians are for. They’ll be glad to help.

Don’t let fear of asking for help stagnate your writing.

Embrace the Fear

I want to leave you with these words from Carrie Fisher:

Your fears are natural and normal. They're also not the end of the story.

Your task, the challenge for every writer, is to face that fear of writing, acknowledge it, and write, share, publish anyway .

Need extra motivation? Have you checked out The Write Practice’s 100 Day Book program ? It’s the best way to stop letting fear of writing control you and get that book done. Click here to find more information on the course.

What scares you most about writing and/or the business side of writing? What are some steps you can take to overcome that fear?  Let me know in the comments !

Today I want you to spend fifteen minutes writing about a time you were scared to do something but did it anyway. Describe the exact feelings of fear you had. How did you feel after you'd done what scared you?

When you’re finished, share your work in the Pro Practice Workshop here (and if you’re not a member yet, you can join here ).

Sarah Gribble

Sarah Gribble is the author of dozens of short stories that explore uncomfortable situations, basic fears, and the general awe and fascination of the unknown. She just released Surviving Death , her first novel, and is currently working on her next book.

Follow her on Instagram or join her email list for free scares.

Work with Sarah Gribble?

Bestselling author with over five years of coaching experience. Sarah Gribble specializes in working with Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror, Speculative Fiction, and Thriller books. Sound like a good fit for you?

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With the Fate of Democracy at Stake, Supreme Court Set to Decide Presidential Immunity

Former President Donald Trump takes his claim of vast presidential immunity to the Supreme Court in long-awaited arguments of unparalleled political importance that come just six months ahead of the 2024 election.

A ‘Fork in the Road’ for Democracy

Amanda Andrade-Rhoades | AP

The Supreme Court of the United States is seen in Washington, March 26, 2024.

The stakes could not be higher as the Supreme Court is poised to hear and rule on the bounds of presidential immunity – a case of unparalleled political importance coming just six months ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

“This is one of the most important cases to ever appear before the Supreme Court,” says Norm Eisen, former special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during Trump’s first impeachment trial. “The substance of this case is nothing less than a fork in the road on whether we will continue to have American democracy and a constitutional republic, with the checks and balances that have characterized the presidency, or whether we will embark on the road of autocracy and the shocking arrogation of powers that former president Donald Trump is seeking.”

The case stems from the four-count criminal indictment of Trump handed down by a federal grand jury last summer in connection with what prosecutors say were efforts to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss and undermine America’s democracy. Trump is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, one count of obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and one count of conspiracy against rights.

Trump pleaded not guilty and has maintained his innocence while characterizing the case as political persecution and election interference by President Joe Biden, Democrats and a cabal of liberal prosecutors and judges.

The case was brought by Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith and is overseen by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.

Chutkan initially set a March 4 date for the trial to begin but delayed the trial until the issue over whether Trump can use presidential immunity as a defense is resolved.

The judge denied a motion by Trump's defense team in December to dismiss the indictment entirely on presidential immunity and constitutional grounds, stipulating in her ruling that his speech and actions as a candidate for president are not necessarily protected against civil liability by presidential immunity.

The presidency, the judge wrote, “does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass. Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability.”

The Week in Cartoons April 22-26

The ruling, which was handed down on the same day that a federal appeals court delivered Trump a similar rejection, marked the first ominous sign for his long-time and oft-cited excuse that nearly all speech by a president is protected from lawsuits and that his efforts were connected to official presidential duties.

Anticipating additional delay tactics from Trump’s attorneys on the issue of presidential immunity and seeking to keep the trial on track, Smith preemptively filed motions to the Supreme Court and a federal appeals court in Washington to settle the question over presidential immunity.

On Feb. 6, a panel of three judges who serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that Trump cannot invoke presidential immunity as a defense.

“For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” they wrote in a unanimous 57-page decision that dealt a major blow to Trump’s defense strategy. “But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as President no longer protects him against this prosecution.”

Their ruling wasn’t unexpected, as the panel of judges voiced skepticism over the former president’s reliance on immunity during a hearing in which Smith and Trump’s defense team squared off over the issue.

Among other things, the judges took issue with the underlying assumption from Trump’s lawyer that the Senate must convict a president first through impeachment in order for prosecutors to be able to file criminal charges against him. They also noted that some of the arguments Trump’s lawyer made were paradoxical, pointing out, for example, that some members of the Senate, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, voted against impeaching Trump based on the assumption any criminal activity could and would be handled by the criminal justice system.

Additionally, the judges went to great lengths to try to understand the limits of presidential immunity – at one point asking Trump’s lawyer whether the same logic would apply, for example, to a president who used the military to assassinate a political rival.

Nevertheless, Trump appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, and the justices on Feb. 28 agreed to consider it. Legal experts expect Thursday’s oral arguments to revisit many of the same issues that arose during the federal appeals court hearing.

“Was he absolutely immune from any criminal prosecution,” asks Laurence Tribe, a professor emeritus at Harvard University specializing in American constitutional law. “No serious legal scholar thinks there is any question about the right answer. The right answer is no.”

Notably, the question of executive immunity in cases of criminal prosecution for a president has never been settled, and Trump’s interpretation of it is far from universally agreed upon. Judges and justices have weighed in over the years on executive immunity as it relates to civil matters, with the Supreme Court concluding that the commander in chief has vast protection from liability for conduct even tangentially related to official duties.

Part of Smith’s 81-page motion to the Supreme Court detailed in great length the 1974 case, United States v. Nixon, in which the high court ruled unanimously against Nixon’s attempt to block evidence from being used in a trial by claiming executive authority.

But the high court is much different today – mired in ethics transgressions, harboring the lowest approval rating in its history, with three of the court’s six conservative justices having been appointed by Trump himself. It’s a dynamic that’s set to have sweeping implications for American democracy.

Indeed, a Marist poll from March shows that 75% of Americans do not think Trump should have immunity from criminal prosecution – up from 65% who said the same in January. And according to the Research Collaborative, a research hub for local and national organizations, a majority of voters, including third-party and undecided voters, believe that at least some of the conservative justices on the court are acting to aid Trump.

“They don't think what's going on is randomly bad, they think it’s deliberately bad,” says Anat Shenker-Osorio, who advises the Research Collaborative. “Over and again, what we find is that voters are dismayed about this case and understand its politicized nature.”

With just six months ahead of the 2024 presidential election, which is set to be a rematch between the candidates who went head-to-head in the 2020 election that’s at the heart of the presidential immunity decision, legal experts say that timing is of the utmost essence.

“I really implore the court to move with urgency,” says Olivia Troye, who served as a counterterrorism and homeland security special advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence. “Donald Trump is known for the delay tactics and I hope the Supreme Court will not be used as one of his pawns. Those of us who have worked in the Trump administration are quite familiar with how adept this machine is. And given what is at stake here in terms of democracy, I would hope that this would not be delayed any longer.”

The added complication is that the decision doesn’t necessarily have to be absolute. The justices could, for example, recognize that presidential immunity is appropriate in some circumstances over some actions and then send the question back to Chutkan to determine which of the offenses of which Trump is accused pass that test.

History shows that the Supreme Court can move quickly on issues of historical importance.

Bush v. Gore, the case that ended Florida’s recount of its 2000 election results and delivered the win to Bush, was decided four days from its filing – one day after oral arguments. A ruling in the 1971 Pentagon Papers case came four days after arguments. And in the Watergate tapes case, justices issued an opinion 16 days later.

If they moved with similar urgency, it would give Chutkan at the very least a chance to start the trial before the November election.

While there’s no official process for how the justices decide whether to take a case on an expedited basis, or how they set the timeline for oral arguments and the issuance of opinions, there are internal norms for workflow and a judicial culture that they attempt to maintain, legal experts say. For example, a protracted schedule could give the appearance of belaboring the issue at best – and playing into Trump’s agenda at worst.

Chief Justice John Roberts could press his colleagues to speed up the process, especially if he’s joined by the three liberal justices and perhaps Justice Brett Kavanaugh, whose views are more moderately conservative compared to the other Republican-appointed justices. But if a justice insists on a 60-day review process, the decision will be stalled – a scenario many legal experts fear is already underway.

“Of course the court can decide cases quickly when it has to,” says Michael Luttig, a former judge on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals appointed by former President George H.W. Bush. “It could hear this case tomorrow and could fairly easily produce an opinion one week later. That is not going to happen. The court has all but told us and assured us that that will not happen. It was an extraordinary statement by the court to set the argument in this case for two months from the date it granted the case.”

“I expect, and we really should all expect, the court to take the full time that it has to decide and render an opinion. I do expect it to be the last case it decides in the term.”

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Guest Essay

Why Losing Political Power Now Feels Like ‘Losing Your Country’

By Thomas B. Edsall

Mr. Edsall contributes a weekly column from Washington, D.C., on politics, demographics and inequality.

Is partisan hostility so deeply enmeshed in American politics that it cannot be rooted out?

Will Donald Trump institutionalize democratic backsliding — the rejection of adverse election results, the demonization of minorities and the use of the federal government to punish opponents — as a fixture of American politics?

The literature of polarization suggests that partisan antipathy has become deeply entrenched and increasingly resistant to amelioration.

“Human brains are constantly scanning for threats to in-groups,” Rachel Kleinfeld , a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, wrote in a September 2023 essay, “ Polarization, Democracy, and Political Violence in the United States: What the Research Says .”

“As people affectively polarize, they appear to blow out-group threats out of proportion, exaggerating the out-group’s dislike and disgust for their own group, and getting ready to defend their in-group, sometimes aggressively,” Kleinfeld argued.

Kleinfeld acknowledged that “a number of interventions have been shown in lab settings, games and short experiments to reduce affective intervention in the short term,” but, she was quick to caution, “reducing affective polarization through these lab experiments and games has not been shown to affect regular Americans’ support for antidemocratic candidates, support for antidemocratic behaviors, voting behavior or support for political violence.”

Taking her argument a step further, Kleinfeld wrote:

Interventions to reduce affective polarization will be ineffective if they operate only at the individual, emotional level. Ignoring the role of polarizing politicians and political incentives to instrumentalize affective polarization for political gain will fail to generate change while enhancing cynicism when polite conversations among willing participants do not generate prodemocratic change.

Yphtach Lelkes , a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, succinctly described by email the hurdles facing proposed remedies for polarization and antidemocratic trends:

I don’t think any bottom-up intervention is going to solve a problem that is structural. You could reduce misperceptions for a day or two or put diverse groups together for an hour, but these people will be polarized again as soon as they are exposed once more to campaign rhetoric.

The reality, Lelkes continued, is that “a fish rots from the head, and political elites are driving any democratic backsliding that is occurring in America. Most Republican voters do not support the antidemocratic policies and practices of their elected officials.”

In their March 2024 paper, “ Uncommon and Nonpartisan: Antidemocratic Attitudes in the American Public ,” Lelkes, Derek E. Holliday and Shanto Iyengar , both of Stanford, and Sean J. Westwood of Dartmouth found that public opposition to antidemocratic policies is not adequate to prevent their adoption:

More ominous implications of our results are that 1) public support is not a necessary precondition for backsliding behavior by elites, and 2) Americans, despite their distaste for norm violations, continue to elect representatives whose policies and actions threaten democracy. One explanation is that when partisanship is strong, voters place party and policy goals over democratic values. Indeed, one of the least-supported norm violations — removing polling places in outparty-dominated areas — has already been violated by elected officials in Texas, and there are concerns about pending similar laws in other states. Such unconstrained elite behavior suggests that threats to democracy could well manifest themselves in both parties in the future.

The level of public support for democratic institutions will be a crucial factor in the 2024 elections. President Biden is campaigning on the theme that Trump and his MAGA allies are intent on strengthening authoritarian leadership at the expense of democracy.

Political scientists and reform groups seeking to restore collegiality to political debate and elections have experimented with a wide variety of techniques to reduce partisan hostility and support for antidemocratic policies.

These efforts have raised doubts among other election experts, both about their effectiveness and durability. Such experts cite the virulence of the conflicts over race, ethnicity and values and the determination of Trump and other politicians to keep divisive issues in the forefront of campaigns.

I have written before about the largest study of techniques to lessen polarization, which was conducted by Jan G. Voelkel and Robb Willer , sociologists at Stanford, along with many other colleagues. Voelkel and Willer are the primary authors of “ Megastudy Identifying Effective Interventions to Strengthen Americans’ Democratic Attitudes .” Given the heightened importance of the coming election and the potential effects of polarization on it, their study is worth re-evaluating.

Voelkel, Willer and 83 others

conducted a megastudy (n=32,059) testing 25 interventions designed by academics and practitioners to reduce Americans’ partisan animosity and antidemocratic attitudes. We find nearly every intervention reduced partisan animosity, most strongly by highlighting sympathetic and relatable individuals with different political beliefs. We also identify several interventions that reduced support for undemocratic practices and partisan violence, most strongly by correcting misperceptions of outpartisans’ views — showing that antidemocratic attitudes, although difficult to move, are not intractable.

Their own data and their responses to my inquiries suggest, however, that the optimism of their paper needs to be tempered.

In the case of the “six interventions that significantly reduced partisan animosity,” the authors reported that two weeks later “the average effect size in the durability survey amounted to 29 percent of the average effect size in the main survey.”

I asked Voelkel to explain this further, posing the question: “If the initial reduction in the level of partisan animosity was 10 percentage points, does the 29 percent figure indicate that after two weeks the reduction in partisan animosity was 2.9 percentage points?” Voelkel wrote back to say yes.

In an email responding to some of my follow-up questions about the paper, Voelkel wrote:

I do not want to overstate the success of the interventions that we tested in our study. Our contribution is that we identify psychological strategies for intervening on partisan animosity and antidemocratic attitudes in the context of a survey experiment. We still need to test how big the effects could be in a large-scale campaign in which the psychological mechanisms for reducing partisan animosity and antidemocratic attitudes get triggered not once (as in our study) but ideally many times and over a longer period.

Voelkel cautioned that “one-time interventions might not be enough to sustainably reduce affective polarization in the mass public. Thus, successful efforts would need to be applied widely and repeatedly to trigger the psychological mechanisms that are associated with reductions in affective polarization.”

Willer sent a detailed response to my queries by email:

First, to be clear, we do not claim that the interventions we tested have large enough effects that they would cure the problems they target. We do not find evidence for that. Far from it. I would characterize the results of the Strengthening Democracy Challenge in a more measured way. We find that many of the interventions we tested reliably, meaningfully and durably reduce both survey and behavioral indicators of partisan animosity.

Willer wrote that “the interventions we tested were pretty effective in reducing animosity toward rival partisans, particularly in the short term. However, we found that the interventions we tested were substantially less effective in reducing antidemocratic attitudes, like support for undemocratic practices and candidates.”

Other scholars were more skeptical.

I asked Lilliana Mason , a political scientist at Johns Hopkins and a leading scholar of affective polarization: “Are there methods to directly lessen polarization? Are they possible on a large, populationwide scale?”

“If we knew that,” she replied by email, “we would have definitely told people already.”

There is evidence, Mason continued, that

it is possible to correct misperceptions about politics by simply providing correct information. The problem is that this new correct information doesn’t change people’s feelings about political candidates or issues. For example, you can correct a lie told by Donald Trump, and people will believe the new correct information, but that won’t change their feelings about Trump at all.

“We think of affective polarization as being extremely loyal to one side and feeling strong animosity toward the other side,” Mason wrote, adding:

This can be rooted in substantive disagreements on policy, identity-based status threat, safe versus dangerous worldview, historical and contemporary patterns of oppression, violations of political norms, vilifying rhetoric, propagandistic media and/or a number of other influences. But once we are polarized, it’s very difficult to use reason and logic to convince us to think otherwise.

Similarly, “there are methods that reduce polarization in academic research settings,” Westwood, an author of the March paper cited above, wrote by email. He continued:

The fundamental problems are that none “cure” polarization (i.e., move the population from negative to neutral attitudes toward the opposing party), none last more than a short period of time and none have a plausible path to societywide deployment. It is impossible to reach every American in need of treatment, and many would balk at the idea of having their political attitudes manipulated by social scientists or community groups.

More important, in Westwood’s view, is that

whatever techniques might exist to reduce citizen animosity must be accompanied by efforts to reduce hostility among elected officials. It doesn’t matter if we can make someone more positive toward the other party if that effect is quickly undone by watching cable news, reading social media or otherwise listening to divisive political elites.

Referring to the Voelkel-Willer paper, Westwood wrote:

It is a critically important scientific study, but it, like nearly all social science research, does not demonstrate that the studied approaches work in the real world. Participants in this study were paid volunteers, and the effects were large but not curative. (They reduced partisan hatred and did not cure it.) To fix America’s problems, we need to reach everyone from fringe white nationalists to single moms in Chicago, which is so costly and logistically complicated that there isn’t a clear path toward implementation.

One problem with proposals designed to reduce partisan animosity and antidemocratic beliefs, which at least three of the scholars I contacted mentioned, is that positive effects are almost immediately nullified by the hostile language in contemporary politics.

“The moralized political environment is a core problem,” Peter Ditto , a professor of psychological science at the University of California, Irvine, wrote by email:

Unless we can bring the temperature down in the country, it is going to be hard to make progress on other fronts, like trying to debias citizens’ consumption of political information. The United States is stuck in this outrage spiral. Partisan animosity both fuels and is fueled by a growing fact gap between red and blue America.

Ditto argued that there is “good evidence for the effectiveness of accuracy prompts (correcting falsehoods) to reduce people’s belief in political misinformation,” but “attempting to reduce political polarization with accuracy prompts alone is like trying to start a mediation during a bar fight.”

Attempts to improve political decision making, Ditto added, “are unlikely to have a substantial effect unless we can tamp down the growing animosity felt between red and blue America. The United States has gone from a politics based on disagreement to one based on dislike, distrust, disrespect and often even disgust.”

Citing the Voelkel-Willer paper, Jay Van Bavel , a professor of psychology and neural science at N.Y.U., emailed me to express his belief that “there are solid, well-tested strategies for reducing affective polarization. These are possible on a large scale if there is sufficient political will.”

But Van Bavel quickly added that these strategies “are up against all the other factors that are currently driving conflict and animosity, including divisive leaders like Donald Trump, gerrymandering, hyperpartisan media (including social media), etc. It’s like trying to bail out the Titanic.”

Simply put, it is difficult, if not impossible, to attempt to counter polarization at a time when partisan sectarianism is intense and pervasive.

Bavel described polarization as

both an illness from various problems in our political system and an outcome. As a result, the solution is going to be extremely complex and involve different leadership (once Trump and his inner circle leave the scene, that will help a lot), as well as a number of structural changes (removing gerrymandering and other incentive structures that reinforce extremism).

Affective polarization, Bavel added,

is really just a disdain for the other political party. Political sectarianism seems to be an even worse form because now you see the other party as evil. Both of these are, of course, related to ideological polarization. But affective polarization and political sectarianism are different because they can make it impossible to cooperate with an opponent even when you agree. That’s why they are particularly problematic.

Stanley Feldman , a political scientist at Stony Brook University, pointed to another characteristic of polarization that makes it especially difficult to lower the temperature of the conflict between Republicans and Democrats: There are real, not imaginary, grounds for their mutual animosity.

In an email, Feldman wrote:

There is a reality to this conflict. There has been a great deal of social change in the U.S. over the past few decades. Gay marriage is legal, gender norms are changing, the country is becoming more secular, immigration has increased.

Because of this, Feldman added:

it’s a mistake to suggest this is like an illness or disease. We’re talking about people’s worldviews and beliefs. As much as we may see one side or the other to be misguided and a threat to democracy, it’s still important to try to understand and take seriously their perspective. And analogies to illness or pathology will not help to reduce conflict.

There are, in Feldman’s view,

two major factors that have contributed to this. First, national elections are extremely competitive now. Partisan control of the House and Senate could change at every election. Presidential elections are decided on razor-thin margins. This means that supporters of each party constantly see the possibility of losing power every election. This magnifies the perceived threat from the opposing party and increases negative attitudes toward the out-party.

The second factor?

The issues dividing the parties have changed. When the two parties fought over the size of government, taxes and social welfare programs, it was possible for partisans to imagine a compromise that is more or less acceptable even if not ideal. Compromise on issues like abortion, gender roles, L.G.B.T.Q. rights and the role of religion is much more difficult, so losing feels like more of a threat to people’s values. Feldman continued:

From a broader perspective, these issues, as well as immigration and the declining white majority, reflect very different ideas of what sort of society the United States should be. This makes partisan conflict feel like an existential threat to an “American” way of life. Losing political power then feels like losing your country. And the opposing parties become seen as dangers to society.

These legitimately felt fears and anxieties in the electorate provide a fertile environment for elected officials, their challengers and other institutional forces to exacerbate division.

As Feldman put it:

It’s also important to recognize the extent to which politicians, the media, social media influencers and others have exacerbated perceptions of threat from social change. Take immigration, for example. People could be reminded of the history of immigration in the U.S.: how immigrants have contributed to American society, how second and third generations have assimilated, how previous fears of immigration have been unfounded. Instead there are voices increasing people’s fear of immigration, suggesting that immigrants are a threat to the country, dangerous and even less than human. Discussions of a “great replacement” theory, supposed attacks on religion, dangers of immigration and changing gender norms undermining men’s place in society magnify perceptions of threat from social change. Cynical politicians have learned that they can use fear and partisan hostility to their political advantage. As long as they think this is a useful strategy, it will be difficult to begin to reduce polarization and partisan hostility.

In other words, as long as Trump is the Republican nominee for president and as long as the prospect of a majority-minority country continues to propel right-wing populism, the odds of reducing the bitter animosity that now characterizes American politics remain slim.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here's our email: [email protected] .

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Thomas B. Edsall has been a contributor to the Times Opinion section since 2011. His column on strategic and demographic trends in American politics appears every Wednesday. He previously covered politics for The Washington Post. @ edsall

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