Prompt Cast
Understanding Emotional Pain: Its Impact and Treatment Options
TLDR Emotional pain is a real and debilitating feeling that can be just as impactful as physical pain. It is believed to have evolved as a result of our socialization as primates and can be addressed through therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Emotional pain has often been overlooked and dismissed in Western medicine, but it is just as real and debilitating as physical pain.
04:54
Emotional pain is a lasting, unsustainable, and unpleasant feeling resulting from negative self-appraisal and an inability or deficiency of the self.
10:05
Emotional pain is believed to have evolved as a result of our increasing socialization as primates, and it piggybacked on our existing physical pain system to alert us when our social bonds are threatened or broken.
15:54
Mental pain is real pain, as shown by fMRI studies that demonstrate the same brain regions responsible for physical pain also become active during emotional pain.
20:41
Research using fMRI scans has shown that the same brain regions responsible for physical pain also become active during emotional pain, supporting the idea that emotional pain and physical pain are the same thing.
25:43
Emotional pain and physical pain differ in that physical pain can often be immediately alleviated, while emotional pain requires self-soothing and treating oneself physically to help alleviate acute symptoms.
30:20
There is currently no accurate way to measure emotional pain and determine how to treat it.
35:27
Depression and emotional pain are not the same thing, as emotional pain does not necessarily correlate with the severity of depression; eating disorders are often a way for individuals to cope with emotional pain; and borderline personality disorder can cause chronic mental pain, particularly related to feelings of rejection and a damaged sense of self-worth.
40:53
Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are more likely to engage in self-injurious behaviors, such as cutting or punching walls, as a way to cope with emotional pain and seek relief, often due to a sense of deserving punishment or feeling defective.
45:50
Suicidal ideation can be a coping mechanism for individuals at risk of suicide, allowing them to remind themselves that things are not yet "bad enough" to take their own life, and there are treatments available for emotional pain such as cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy.
50:53
Emotional pain can be addressed through therapy such as CBT, DBT, and ACT, which can help individuals understand that they are not defined by their behaviors, thoughts, or feelings.
Categories:
Society & Culture
