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Paris Hilton is opening up about her experience with rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD). It’s not an official diagnosis, but accompanies well-known conditions like ADHD, according to Cleveland Clinic.
During an appearance on “The Skinny Confidential Him & Her Show” Monday, Jan. 26, the socialite and businesswoman, 44, shared RSD makes her feel things on a deep, emotional level to the point of being painful.
She said any negative thoughts or perceptions, like someone being rude, feels like “physical pain” for her.
“It’s kind of just like this, almost like a demon in your mind. That is like saying negative self-talk to you,” she said. “It’s like very difficult at some times, but now I know it’s not real. It’s just like the RSD kicking in.”
Cleveland Clinic defines RSD as intense emotional pain related to failure or feeling rejected. While rejection tends to be a universally negative experience, the negative feelings that come with RSD are “stronger and can be harder to manage or both,” the clinic notes, adding people with RSD are also more likely to interpret vague interactions as rejection.
“Though RSD isn’t an officially recognized symptom or diagnosis, it’s still a term that experts use in connection with recognized conditions,” the clinic adds.
RSD and the connection to ADHD
Hilton said RSD is linked to her ADHD, which she described as her “superpower.”
The Cleveland Clinic confirms RSD is related to ADHD, though more research is needed to understand why it happens and how many people experience it.
“(Experts) suspect it involves issues with the structure of your brain and that it happens for similar reasons as ADHD,” the clinic notes.
Hilton added she wants to spread more messaging about ADHD and its related conditions because it’s something she lacked herself as a child.
“No one was talking about it when I was a teenager, especially for girls and women. Everyone just would say, ‘Oh, this is like something little boys have,’ ” she recounted. “I was always so confused. And in school, it was so difficult for me. As hard as I would study, I could never remember anything. I was always failing my tests. I was just always in detention, getting in trouble.”
Everyone only focused on the negative parts about the diagnosis as well, she said, which made her want to reframe it.
“I want people to know that it doesn’t have to be something that holds them back in life. It could be something that they can harness as a superpower to really go for their dreams in life,” she said.
