Axiomempiricalv1
Social rejection and anticipated social rejection activate
Social rejection and anticipated social rejection activate the same neural pain processing regions as physical pain.
Why This Is an Axiom
This is Naomi Eisenberger's fMRI finding about social pain. It is foundational to understanding why saying no is neurologically difficult, not just psychologically uncomfortable. This cannot be derived from other claims in the curriculum — it is empirical bedrock about how brains process social threat.