The RSD First Aid Kit
Eight body-based tools to calm the rejection sensitivity alarm
Your RSD First Aid Kit is a free guide for the moment the alarm fires. When rejection sensitivity hits, your body needs tools, not more thinking. These eight somatic techniques are designed for the neurodivergent nervous system — sensory, adaptable, portable, and genuinely useful in the middle of a hard moment.
Inside the kit:
In-the-moment body resets — eight gentle techniques, from the orienting response and the butterfly hug to humming, self-hold, and weighted pressure
Tools built for a brain like yours — somatic, not cerebral, for the moments when thinking your way out simply isn't possible
Sensory-adaptable throughout — including a note for sensory-sensitive parents on why the usual advice (barefoot on grass) can activate rather than calm
A trauma-aware approach — guidance on moving at your own pace and skipping anything that doesn't feel right today
A reminder you can return to — your wiring is not the problem; the alarm was built to protect you, and now you have tools to work with it
The kit is grounded in clinical research, my work as a Perinatal Counsellor supporting ADHD and autistic mothers, and my own lived experience as an AuDHD mother of three.
This kit is for any mother whose nervous system feels rejection more intensely than the people around her — whether you have a formal diagnosis of ADHD or autism, are still piecing it together, identify as an empath or highly sensitive, or simply know that criticism has always landed harder for you than it seems to for others.
This kit is an educational resource, not a diagnostic tool or a substitute for therapy. If any tool increases your distress, stop and seek support. If you are in crisis or feel at risk of harming yourself, please contact emergency services or your local crisis line immediately.