Rejection Therapy

Submission 261

Part of a series on Internet Challenges. [View Related Entries]

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About

Rejection Therapy refers to the TikTok trend of getting rejected once a day for several days in a row as a form of letting go of one's fears and seeing what will happen in your life if you ask for things. Originally started as a "100-day rejection challenge" in early 2022, the trend started to expand beyond its original reach and become known as "rejection therapy" for people who are afraid of asking for things in public or being scared, leading to a resurgence in its usage in late 2024.

Origin

On February 15th, 2022, the TikToker bobothuhbreadboy^[1] uploaded a TikTok in which he explained in detail part of the 100-day rejection challenge. The point of the challenge was to accomplish and list out 100 different things that you can do to be rejected on during the normal course of the day. This TikTok received over 170 likes in two years while being one of the first to introduce the concept to the social media app (shown below).

@bobothuhbreadboy #greenscreenvideo 100 Day Rejection Challenge ‼️👀 #100daychallenge #rejection #rejectiontherapy #100day #fyp #fypシ #bobothuhbreadboy #thuhteam #music ♬ Losing My Mind – Bobo Thuh BreadBoy

Spread

Over the following year, the concept began to shift and turn itself into a form of therapy. On January 10th, 2023, the TikTok account for TedToks^[2] uploaded a TikTok of author Jia Jiang explaining the concept. In the version first stated, you face rejection 30 days in a row to desensitize yourself to the pain. Jia then started to do the trend for 100 days straight. His anecdote about asking for a burger refill led to the TikTok getting over 6,500 likes in one year and helping it spread across the platform (shown below).

@tedtoks Replying to @canelapoptart Who else is purposely getting rejected more this year?🙋‍♀️🙋🙋‍♂️ #rejectiontherapy #100daysofrejection #jiajiang #resolutions #tedTalk ♬ original sound – TED Talks

The concept of rejection therapy continued to spread across the app and hit a resurgence in 2024 with several different TikTokers uploading TikToks of themselves practicing rejection therapy.

For example, on July 12th, 2024, TikToker michellepanning^[3] uploaded herself on day nine of the rejection therapy challenge in which she tried to ask a stranger for $100 and was rejected. The TikTok gained over 226,00 likes and 2.2 million views in three months (shown below).

@michellepanning ❌ DAY 9 OF REJECTION THERAPY ❌ This was one of the challenges I was dreading THE MOST! 😅 I’ve done it a few times before but never for $100 so it felt edgy to put it lightly. Here’s what I learned: The anticipation of the thing is often worse than the thing itself. My pulse was racing. My hands were clammy. And as soon as it was over, I came back to baseline. You sitting in indecision, waiting for the perfect moment and for the stars to align is what is CAUSING your anxiety… not the fear of doing the thing itself. 🙃 The longer you sit in indecision, the more intense your fear becomes until eventually it has you in a chokehold and you feel paralysed. So whatever that thing is that you’re sitting on… go do it. Do it now. What are you ACTUALLY waiting for? 🤔 For you to feel no fear? Feel completely confident? You may be waiting a while. So do the thing scared. But do the thing nonetheless. 🫶🏼 #rejectiontherapy #confidenceiskey #rejection #30daychallenge ♬ original sound – Michelle Panning