Psychosomatic

This is just a quick observation: The human body is an amazing, but very, very odd thing. It is possible (and for me, it seems common) for the brain to make the body feel as though something is happening or has happened, even though nothing physical has changed. Example: There are times when it feels like you've been punched in the stomach based solely on the words someone says (or the fear of words that might be said). This feeling can be so intense and realistic that the wind is knocked right out of you. Another example could be when you're watching a violent movie, and someone on screen happens to, oh I dunno, rip some dude's eyeball out right on screen... At that moment, your own eye might suddenly hurt beyond belief (for those few short nanoseconds before you pass out on the floor, anyway). Further proof: Sit around with a bunch of guys, and wait for some sports highlight or Jackass clip involving an injury to some dude's crotch, and notice the instant change in guys' postures. Yeah....

I guess none of this is new to anyone, myself included.. but what struck me today was this odd little bit: When the reason for that feeling has been removed or proven untrue, that pain still lingers. That seems dumb to me. If the mind is "smart" enough to create physical reactions to emotional or mental things, shouldn't it be smart enough to remove those physical things when the emotional or mental thing is removed? It's a crazy world we live in, folks.