Your Brain Reacts the Same to Physical Pain and Emotional Pain

Having your heart broken is among the worst emotions imaginable. Have you ever had a hand burn from a stove, though? That also aches. Is it possible to determine which hurts more objectively? Can you discern how they hurt differently, which is even harder? Do not be concerned if it becomes more difficult for you to distinguish between bodily and mental discomfort. Your brain is also incapable of telling the difference.

The expression "heartache is like genuine, physical pain" is not just a flowery metaphor. The human brain responds to emotional anguish similarly to physical pain, according to MRI research. That implies that you ache similarly in a physiological sense and that your brain doesn't distinguish between the two pains. What's worse, emotional suffering actually impairs your intelligence. When dealing with heartbreak, your reasoning abilities suffer immediately, and your IQ may decrease by about 25%.