Emotional pain, the anguish of our brain

Emotional pain deserves the same attention as physical pain. Just as we look for remedies and treatments to relieve wounds and contractures, we must do the same with our regrets, fears and sadness.

In the face of disappointment, broken love, betrayal, a lie or the loss of a loved one, we feel emotional pain. A heartbreaking pain that has been captured for centuries and centuries in poems and songs full of suffering.

These poetic intuitions have obtained support from neurophysiological studies, which have found that lhe metaphor for the psychological pain generated by some type of social or emotional loss is reflected in our brain circuits.

Specifically It is possible to know this thanks to functional magnetic resonance imaging., a neuroimaging technique that helps us see which areas light up when our heart breaks and our emotions catch fire. Likewise, studies such as the one carried out by Dr. Vikaas Sohal from the University of California are an example of how today we know, for example, how sadness impacts our neuronal structures.

The brain of emotional pain

To begin with, something striking that neuroscientists have found about emotional pain is the following: The brain areas that are activated when we suffer physical pain are the same as when we experience restlessness, sadness and the most intense desolation.

Thus, in 2012, Dr. Naomi I. Eisenberger and her team at the University of California conducted a study where they discovered this striking fact. Thus, in the experiment, a situation was devised that encouraged the people participating in the study to feel excluded, belittled and distressed. This reflected changes in blood flow to two key brain areas:

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The anterior cingulate cortex is an area involved in generating the aversive experience of physical pain. It was found that the greater the distress, the greater the activity in this area. The prefrontal cortex was more inactive the less the emotional pain.

As we see, the anterior cingulate cortex promotes us to develop these types of feelings of anguish, discomfort and fear of the emotional emptiness that loss, deception or rejection leaves us with. For your part Our prefrontal cortex is responsible for regulating our emotions and counteracting the painful feeling of being rejected, thus contributing to calm the pain caused by our emotional wound.

More data about the geography of our emotions

To be more specific and know what the road that directs our emotions is, we must know some more data. Specifically that The cingulate gyrus has three distinct emotional areas:

The anterior area, which is responsible for the development of negative feelings and emotions (Be careful!! Just because they are negative does not mean they have to be bad; for example, sadness is good as long as it is not pathological).The central area, which integrates our emotions and our thoughts. The posterior area, which generates positive feelings and emotions.

For example, the central cingulate area is activated during sexual arousal in men and during those tasks or activities that are stressful and require a lot of attention on our part.

Knowing this, we can understand that neurotransmitters (substances that regulate brain functions) suffer great depression during emotionally difficult times for us.

It is interesting to know that Both antidepressants and other mood-elevating drugs act on our brain by regulating or reducing the activation of the anterior cingulate area.

Emotional pain deserves the same attention as physical pain

Something that is very clear to us from all this information is that Physical pain and emotional pain share a path. That is why we should not underestimate emotional wounds and let them heal “in any way and in the air.”

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In truth, when our heart breaks or our friend betrays us, it hurts us intensely on a mental and physiological level.. The vast majority of us will be aware of the heartbreak we feel when we have to end the story with, for example, our first love.

We are used to burying emotional pain, there is no doubt. This is often because we are taught to “cover up” what hurts us. We hide, so to speak, all that suffering to which psychological wounds subject us. However, one aspect must be clear.

Just as we tend to our physical pain, we must care for and heal emotional pain.

Acting on our mental and emotional well-being, working to understand what is happening to us and alleviating our complaints and anxieties is a way to prevent suffering from getting worse.

Just as physical pain warns us of an injury, we cannot forget that emotional pain due to separation, rejection or disappointment is adaptive, as it helps us understand that something is not right and that we must take care of ourselves.

Once this is clear, we will continue to expect new and rigorous studies that will help us understand even better not only the presence of psychological pain, but also the best way to relieve ourselves and learn from the anguish that this generates in us.