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Old 04-09-2003, 09:14 PM   #1
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Question Origin of the term "Heartbreak"?

I only ask, since my girlfriend left me, I've had moments when I literally feel it as a pain in my chest. I suspect this phenomenon is related to the old idea that the heart is the source of emotion.

I suppose my question is, is there a concrete physiological reaction going on in response to this emotion, or is it simply a psychosomatic response to nearly two decades of hearing the word "heartbreak"?
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Old 04-10-2003, 04:12 AM   #2
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My theory on this is that it actually has to do with breathing rather than the heart--I've noticed that fear and stress also causes a similar, but not exactly the same, constricted feeling in the chest, and from some experiences with meditation I've found that relaxed, slow breathing can relieve that tightness. In the case of heartbreak it might have something to do with the crying response...think of the breathing pattern during "sobbing" and how it feels like it's releasing that pain (laughing can do it too, but I associate laughter more with relieving fear/stress constriction than sadness). But that's just my theory, I'd be interested to know if there's been any study of this phenomenon. I'm pretty sure it's biologically-based and not just a product of suggestion, though.
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Old 04-10-2003, 04:24 AM   #3
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The heart has long been considered the center of emotion. From ThinkQuest *
Quote:
All of the ancient cultures shared one trait in common in how they perceived the heart. They thought that the heart was the center of emotion. The Egyptians, for instance, thought the heart to be the most important organ. They would embalm bodies by removing the organs and placing them in ceramic containers to be buried with the body. However, the heart would be the only organ left in the body. They felt the heart played an important role in the afterlife. As legend has it, if the heart (representing conscience) weighs less than the feather (representing truth) then the person will be allowed to live in the afterlife. The Egyptians thought the heart generated thought and emotion. They had no conception of the mind (brain).
I've often tried to imagine thinking as coming from my heart but it is very difficult.


* Click on picture to get to text I copied from
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Old 04-10-2003, 07:12 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally posted by sakrilege
The heart has long been considered the center of emotion.
I always though that this was due to the rather simple observation that when you experience strong emotions, your heart beats faster and when you calm down, your heart slows down. If you don't understand blood circulation, or have a wrong concpetion of what blook does, that seems to be th only purpose

The brain gets passed over bcause it's a solid(ish) state device, so you have no idea whether it's working hard or not.
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Old 04-10-2003, 03:01 PM   #5
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I know jack about mamalian indocrinology so this is a really unscientific summary of an article I read regarding human behavior and endocrine responses in people the are "in love".

I've read that people that are in love experience an endorphin prophile similar to an addict. When not in the presence of the object of desire endorphin levels fall and the lover feels agitated and obsesses about his/her love. When in the presence of the object of desire the lover gets a rush of endorphins. When the lover gets dumped I believe that the pain in the chest may have something to do with a sudden fall in endophine production. It's more complex than this but the concept makes since.
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Old 04-11-2003, 01:22 AM   #6
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Default Re: Origin of the term "Heartbreak"?

Quote:
Originally posted by Calzaer
I suppose my question is, is there a concrete physiological reaction going on in response to this emotion, or is it simply a psychosomatic response to nearly two decades of hearing the word "heartbreak"?
... bearing in mind of course that many psychosomatic responses are also physiological reaction as well. But no, not the result of just being indoctrinated in the term "heartbreak". Not that your experience sounds as severe, but in extreme cases mental stress can produce panic attacks as well, affecting heart rate, breathing (chest tightness), metabolism & so forth. But I don't know the physiology behind this.

BTW, hope things work themselves out soon. They usually do.
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Old 04-11-2003, 01:26 AM   #7
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Interesting how various emotions manifest themselves, anger & exceitement with increased adrenalin, fear sometimes with nausea. Terms like gutless and gutsy and even stomach as a verb, reflect how the seat of courage often seems like it's in our stomach. While the recent terms of brainy & brainless more recently acknowledge the role of our brains.
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Old 04-11-2003, 08:29 AM   #8
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Default breathing

If you get a good friend to measure or time your breathing rate at different times of the day you may find you are "over breathing " which will cause anxiety or panic attack symtoms making you feel uncomfortable I think the average is about 8-10 per minute. If that is the case a few little relaxation exercises are needed as well as a change in life style.
I hope it helps........ tom.
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Old 04-11-2003, 10:02 PM   #9
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I've also intuitively noticed the physical feeling associated with emotion seems to originate in the centre of the chest, just behind the sternum. There probably are physiologic reasons behind this.

I'm only piping up because I feel different 'versions' of this sensation with more emotions than just grief and sadness. Love seems to well up here, producing a similar kind of "tightness" but one that seems to be more "expansive and out-reaching". It's hard to explain in words, but there's a clear difference - sadness feels bound and constricted, while joy and love feel like they radiate out from the same central location. When I hug those that I love, a particular calmness and evenness is instilled in me, and it also seems to originate from this same area. Anxiety takes the constriction of sadness and gives it a quiver; anger takes that quiver and compresses it as if it can't move but wants to; frustration takes the dullness off of anger's burn and gives it sharp edges. I've managed in the past to explain pretty much every emotion's peculiar "chest-feeling" which occurs for me whenever the emotion is strong enough.
Weird anecdotal nonevidence, I know. But that's how it seems to be for me. My sister is the same way, so amybe it's in our raising.
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