Rejection activates something old. The social pain of being rejected registers in the same regions as physical pain — which means the feeling of "it shouldn't be this bad" is physiologically wrong. It is this bad. The body is not overreacting.

The cognitive work — "it's not personal," "there are other opportunities," "this isn't about your worth" — often can't reach the part that actually hurts. You know it logically. You still feel it completely.

Anonymous thoughts about rejection posted here don't need to have done the cognitive work yet. The honest account of how it actually feels, before the processing begins.