Why Does Rejection Hurt So Much

<p>Why Does Rejection Hurt So Much?</p> <p>Rejection hurts. That's a fact that's been proven scientifically as well as by our individual experiences. It negatively impacts our well-being and inflicts emotional pain. However, why does rejection hurt so much? Researchers have pondered these same questions, and we have our answers.</p> <p>Rejection played an essential purpose in our evolution. </p> <p>In our past, when we were all hunters and gatherers, being rejected by our village was truly a death sentence. This is because no one could survive alone for long. <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-squeaky-wheel/201307/10-surprising-facts-about-rejection#:~:text=1.,so%20much%20(neurologically%20speaking)." target="_blank">Psychologists</a> believe that our brains developed a warning system to alert us when we risk being ostracized. Getting our attention was so important that this warning system had to be as painful as possible so we could correct our behaviors and be allowed to remain in the tribe.</p> <p><b>We relive and experience social rejection just as we experience physical pain. </b></p> <p><a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031010074045.htm" target="_blank">Researchers</a> at UCLA noticed that physical pain and social pain (the pain of being rejected) are felt in the same parts of our brains. This means that our brains cannot differentiate between physical pains ( say, a broken arm) and the pain of being rejected. </p> <p>This is the reason why a break-up can leave you feeling broken, just like with most physical injuries. Our brains prioritize the pain of rejection because being ostracized from the "tribe" was akin to a death sentence.</p> <p><b>Being rejected destabilizes our "desire to belong." </b></p> <p>Humans are social animals, and we fundamentally need to belong to a tribe. Rejection destabilizes that need, and this adds to the pain we feel. Research has proven that being in a group or reconnecting with people that love and value us soothes physical p