"[1] There are numerous ways psychological pain is referred to, using a different word usually reflects an emphasis on a particular aspect of mind life.

[19] As a consequence of neglectful parenting, children with unmet psychological needs may be linked to psychotic disorders in childhood throughout life.

[21] From an evolutionary perspective, psychological pain forces the assessment of actual or potential social problems that might reduce the individual's fitness for survival.

[22] The way people display their psychological pain socially (for example, crying, shouting, moaning) serves the purpose of indicating that they are in need.

[8][12][27] Further connection between physical and psychological pain has been supported through proof that acetaminophen, an analgesic, can suppress activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and the insular cortex when experiencing social exclusion, the same way that it suppresses activity when experiencing physical pain,[28][29] and reduces the agitation of people with dementia.

Studies have shown that borderline patients experience chronic and significant emotional suffering and mental agony.

[33][34] Borderline patients may feel overwhelmed by negative emotions, experiencing intense grief instead of sadness, shame and humiliation instead of mild embarrassment, rage instead of annoyance, and panic instead of nervousness.

[36] Both clinicians and laymen alike have witnessed the desperate attempts to escape these subjective inner experiences of these patients.

Although the excruciatingly painful inner experience of the borderline patient is both unique and perplexing, it is often linked to severe childhood trauma of abuse and neglect.