Social Exclusion Triggers Parts Of The Brain Associated With Physical Pain.

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If you’ve ever braved the hallways of a school, chances are very high that you’ve suffered some form of social rejection. Consider the language you used when it happened to you. It is likely that you used phrases like “broken heart” and “hurt feelings” to describe your emotions. Naomi Eisenberger (2011) suggests that this is because of two things: first, language is limited and we simply do not have a great way to describe our emotions, and second, that science indicates that there is an overlap in physical and emotional pain.

Human beings are social creatures, which means that we require a peer group of some sort to survive, and while our dependence on a peer group for physical survival has decreased, our need for an emotional connection to a group has not (Jaffe, 2013). Recent studies have found an overlap in the areas of the brain activated during social rejection and physical pain (Eisenberger, 2011). Essentially, what researchers have found is that both types of pain can manifest physically, due to their locations in the brain. Scientists have looked at the lasting effects of both physical and emotional pain, and have found that while physical pain and emotional pain can feel equally terrible in the moment, emotional pain lasts far longer and can cause lingering psychological pain (Jaffe,2013). Persistent social rejection, over long periods of time, can actually induce depression, can cause people to withdraw from social situations, and can lead people to suicide (Eisenberger, 2011).

Since our brain reads social exclusion and physical pain similarly, it makes sense that we describe social rejections in the same way that we might describe stubbing our toe. Scientists looked at the reason why this may be, and they hypothesized that it comes from an evolutionary change in the human experience of being social creatures (Eisenberger, 2011). Since we hold social interaction in such high esteem, and often use it as an indication of social success, it makes sense that we have visceral reactions to the lack of it.

Food for thought: Do you think there may be another reason for this overlap in brain regions? Do you think that the ability, or inability, to deal with social rejection can be influenced or exacerbated by mental illness?

-Cassey

 

SOUCRES

Eisenberger, Naomi. (2011). Why Rejection Hurts. Retrieved from: http://edge.org/conversation/why-rejection-hurts

Weir, Kristen. (2012). The Pain of Social Rejection. American Psychological Association. Vol43, No 4. Retrieved from: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/04/rejection.aspx

Jaffe, Eric. (2013). Why Love Literally Hurts. The Observer. Vol 23, No 2. Retrieved from: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/publications/observer/2013/february-13/why-love-literally-hurts.html

 

edited by: Tatum Wilson

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