Heart Break Actually DOES Hurt

Getting your heart broken hurts and now science has proven it.

A new study using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has found that the same brain networks activated when you’re burned by hot coffee also light up when you think about a lover who burned you emotionally.

A "painful break-up" is no longer just a metaphor, as this new research shows the brain doesn’t appear to firmly distinguish between physical pain and intense emotional pain.

Experts believe this new information illuminates the role that feelings of rejection and other emotional trauma can play in the development of chronic pain disorders.

The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also raises questions about whether treating physical pain can help to relieve emotional pain and the other way around.

Inneresting.

We hope this comforts anyone who has ever had a good cry over a broken heart.

See! We weren't being babies, that shizz hurt!

[Image via Getty Images.]

Tags: brain, burn, coffee, heart, new study, research, sting, study