Heart-brake!

It’s true what they say: rejection does break your heart – literally! Or at least, it slows it down to what scientists are calling a “heart-brake”. A study done at the University of Amsterdam and Leiden University found that social rejection can cause your heart’s rate to drop for a moment or even longer. Researchers enrolled healthy 18 – 25 year old students in the study. Pictures were taken of each student and sent to another university. The students at the other university looked at the picture and decided if they liked that person or not, simply by looking at the picture. They were instructed to write yes or no by the picture. The pictures and remarks were then returned to the original university where the participants were hooked up to an electrocardiogram. These original participants were in turn shown pictures of the other students and asked to guess whether each person had liked or disliked his or her picture. They were then shown the results and that is when things got interesting! When the feedback showed that the student was not liked by a student, the participant’s heart-rate slowed momentarily. And interestingly, the slow rate was more pronounced if the student taking part in the study had guessed that the other person would like them. The cardiac response to unexpected social rejection was larger than to expected social rejection. So, if you are rejected by someone you already know doesn’t care for you, your heart rate slows a little. If you are rejected by someone you think likes you, your heart rate slows more dramatically! Scientists are saying these findings show that humans are strongly motive to feel they are liked, and that this study shows that the brain processes social and physical pain in the same regions. This study was done between people who had never met each other and were simply basing on photographs their decision on whether or not they liked the person. Imagine how dramatic those results could be in real relationships! Knowing that everyone wants to be liked and working hard not to create – or suffer from – a heart-brake . . . . it’s a good thing!