Why We Fear the Unanswered Text

Every person goes through the feeling of being left alone. Of being abandoned. When they try to connect with someone and that person doesn't react with the same intensity. When you sent that text and it's been an hour and she hasn't responded. Worse, you saw her posting an Instagram story, so she clearly has her phone in hand but hasn't prioritised your message. That feeling in your stomach is called abandonment. We fear rejection because we don't want to be left alone. Rejection reminds us that we have been left alone. We hate that feeling so much that we would do anything to escape it. Even if it means distancing ourselves from our own emotions. Even if it means staying alone. We would rather quit the world than feel that rejection constantly. The heartbreak you felt when she left you is the same feeling. Abandonment. Of course it's tied to evolution. Every damn emotion is tied to evolution. But I want to emphasise that in practical terms, it isn't entirely a bad emotion. It's a…