when your feelings are hurt or have a broken heart, how and why are you able to actually feel a painful burning sensation inside your chest?
In: 8
Hormones.
Cortisol which is a stress hormone increases while your happy hormones such as dompanine and oxytocin decreases. Even though it’s emotional feeling, your brain is still registering it as pain in your body.
There’s a hormone in your body called cortisol. Cortisol is released during stressful situations. Most scientists believe this was an evolutionary trait, triggering a flight response if we were in danger.
Brain is very good at sensing when your in danger. Brain has millions and millions of little sensors (neuroreceptors, etc.) that tell brain when things are wrong. When you get burned, sensor tells brain: “hey man this is pretty hot” brain says “ouch this is very hot it could hurt us. I feel pain!” Brain don’t know how to respond to feelings as well as it responds to its own sensors, so it makes a cause and effect. Brain says “this person makes me feel good but no sensors are going off.. that’s odd… this person must not be dangerous, they must be good!”*reward of good chemical*. When a breakup happens your brain suddenly associates the person with bad feeling. This makes brain think that person = danger. But what? Feelings does brain a bamboozle! Person = danger but no sensors say that something bad happens? Brain must be doing something wrong… respond as if person is causing you pain. Wait love is associated with heart, so pain must be there! Brain saves the day 🙂
The whole physical organism is basically a gigantic sensing machine attuned to our environment. The first and foremost purpose of our central nervous system (including our brain) is to move us around in this environment to seek food, water, shelter and companionship (basically to keep us existing) and also to avoid danger.
Through millions of years of evolution we have been programmed to rely on others for safety. Our chances of survival on our own are virtually nil.
When we detect aversion from others (a break up, ostracision from our group), our bodily organism interprets this as a threat to our survival. It sends signals through out our body(viscerally), and if we’re a smart little organism we modify our behaviour accordingly.
A beautifully designed piece of organic hardware really. Should be enough incentive to really care for it and feel deep gratitude.
Latest Answers