Have You Been Burned By Heartbreak?

“Science has finally confirmed what anyone who’s ever been in love already knows: Heartbreak really does hurt.” —  CNN Health  In a new study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), researchers have found that the same brain networks that are activated when you’re burned by hot coffee also light up when you think about a lover who has spurned you. In other words, the brain doesn’t appear to firmly distinguish between physical pain and intense emotional pain. Heartache and painful breakups are “more than just metaphors,” says Ethan Kross, Ph.D., the lead researcher and an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. Heartbreak might even hurt more than being burned by coffee. While no one wants to be physically burned, most people are far more focused on having  control over not experiencing the pain of heartbreak than the pain of a coffee burn. The interesting thing to me is that most people have no problem treating themselves with  kindness and caring if they are physically hurt, but they have a hard time bringing that same level of compassion to themselves if they are emotionally hurt. Still, a broken heart needs even more gentleness and tenderness than a physical burn.