great topic myzen... Its kind of like we all have dual needs within us. One for autonomy the other for communion with others... Just thinking about this issue right now it seems that fear of rejection may be in inbalance towards the communion side of the street . Ie because of lack of self-esteem and healthy autonomy or healthy self assertion we become overly sensitive to rejection and dependent upon approval of others... (instead of having healthy communion balanced and off set with self-esteem and self assertion we are overly dependent on the group- our communions to support and approve of us) Many people actually have opposite imbalance too self assertive and not enough mutuality (or sensitivity) with others... Anyways from what I have read on this topic (though this is easier said then done) the cure for this is of course desensitization and this means risking self-assertion... "Ellis" founder of Rational Emotive Therapy spoke of his own crippling shyness... The way he overcame it was by sytematic de-sensitization. He was a man terrified of giving talks, talking to women and the like... When he was a young man one summer he gave himself assignments every day to approach pretty women at a beautiful park and just talk with them a bit... In this and all other areas he sytematically desensitized himself to fear of rejection... (terrified of speaking he looked for opportunities to give speeches) was he rejected some yes... Did it end his life, no... (and he became one of the most successful and famous therapists in the world) Again this is easier said then done (and I say this out of my own fears-if one is going to give advice on should live by it!). .. I think the causes are, of course, multi-determined ie genetics, early childhood, etc etc etc... Your meditation group sounds like an excellent place to be. Meditation itself is training in sitting with and not avoiding and bringing awareness too all these fears (or whatever else arises)or overwhelmed feelings these raw sensitive feelings letting them be... (there are of course different methods of meditation- some more concentrative and some more just sitiing but both I beleive train us in this way) When we do this we dis-identify with them... Instead of being had by them we transcend them in our own awareness and realize we are bigger then them... In this way we can integrate them into ourselves and move on in peace and good will... I think that by integraing them we also will be re-intagrating great energy that has been split off into the anxiety fear avoidance complex's...