Rejection really hurts

ABC's Catalyst reports http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1195656.htm a story about how the pain of a broken heart is felt in the same region of the brain, the anterior cingulate cortex, as physical pain. In the evolution of humans as social animals, rejection from the group can mean life or death, or at least affect your ability to have offspring and your status. Fortunately, the researchers also found the brain's mechanism to relieve the pain of rejection in the right ventral prefrontal cortex, over the eyebrow. This region of the brain is exercised when you describe your distress either in writing or in conversation. So rejection genuinely, physically hurts, and talking to friends and writing about your experience really helps to turn down the pain.