Can you fix a Broken Heart with Painkillers?

Original picture found here: http://an9ie.blogspot.com

When we describe our responses to rejection, whether we refer to being dumped, being insulted, or just being left out, our language tends to mirror that of our responses to physical pain. We speak of experiencing a "broken heart," or that we are "emotionally scarred," "slapped in the face," "deeply hurt," or "cut to the core."

Social Psychologists argue there is a reason the language we use to describe social and physical pain is so similar.

There is a growing number of researchers who argue that the need for belonging is such a fundamental need that we have developed a mechanism that signals to us any threat of exclusion. Much like how our body has learned to recognize and avoid physical dangers, our body has learned to recognize and avoid social rejection. The researchers (e.g., MacDonald & Leary, 2005, Psy Bull) go on to argue that in fact, social threats and physical threats activate the same signaling mechanism which is physical pain. Pain is an effective signal of impending threat as it involves a quick response and it is motivating enough to influence behavior away from the threat. What this means, then, is that when we talk about broken hearts, we are not just speaking in metaphor; our hearts literally feel like they are physically breaking.

I was surprised by the evidence that supports this. Researchers have found that priming social rejection activates similar brain patterns as priming physical pain. In fact, a very provocative study (DeWall et al., 2010, Psy Sci) found that taking Acetaminophen, a pain killer, actually reduces social pain! The painkiller reduced brain activity associated with social rejection, and participants also reported feeling less pain. In other words, you CAN heal broken hearts and bad moods with pain killers.

I'm curious to know - and I'm asking the non-scientists, general population here: what do you all think of this? What do you think of the idea that social rejection activates the same physiological responses as physical injuries?