Watercooler Stories
Rejection Physically Painful

By Alex Cukan
United Press International

Social rejection can feel just as painful as being poked in the eye, the Web site Scotsman.com reports.

Researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles, in a study published by Science, say that hurt feelings affect the same part of the brain as physical pain.

"There's something about exclusion from others that is perceived as being as harmful to our survival," says Naomi Eisenberger.

The study suggests social exclusion of any sort -- divorce, not being asked to play a game, being turned down for a date -- would cause distress in the same part of the brain that registers pain.