You can feel rejected without actually being rejected as a person.

A no is usually about a fit, a timing, a set of constraints you cannot see, or the other person’s own situation. The mind converts it into a verdict on your whole self because that conversion is fast and old. But nothing about a declined offer, an unanswered message, or an unreturned interest establishes anything general about your worth, and the leap from one to the other happens so quickly it feels like perception rather than inference.

When a rejection lands, try to state precisely what was rejected. This application, this proposal, this particular hope with this particular person. Keeping it that size does not stop it hurting, but it stops the hurt from spreading into places it does not belong.