When a funding rejection feels existential

Research life has good times and bad times. Science without Anguish is all about managing these ups and downs.
 
But what about when it gets really bad? I don’t mean those ‘everyday’ frustrations, fears or aggravations. Not even overwhelm - still the most widely read topic I’ve written about.
 
I’m talking about that gut-wrenching, soul-destroying feeling when a crucial funding application is rejected, filling us with existential dread.
 
It’s topical, I know. These events are coming thick and fast right now, and I’m no exception. How we deal with them is crucial. This can quite literally destroy careers and shorten lives, and it's very, very hard to get right. 

And yet we don't talk about it. At what cost?

How can we find a way through when the abyss opens up before us?

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