Psychological pain refers to pain caused by psychological stress and by emotional trauma, as distinct from that caused by physiological injuries and syndromes. In recent years there has been some prominence to lawsuits which attempt to recover money as a result not of physical pain but psychological pain, which has been quite controversial.

Many pains that are quite physical sometimes have psychological explanations, for example, it is said that a pain in the rear left side of your brain is from 'unshed tears' suggesting a sense of loss and yet not displaying it.

Psychological pain is distinct and separate from emotional pain, which is 'heartache' due to a true or perceived loss. In his book The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden, Jungian analyst and author Robert A. Johnson describes psychological pain as "the wounded feeling function in masculine and feminine psychology". In the synopsis of The Fisher King and the Handless Maiden, pain from psychological wounds is reasoned to be the cause of our collective inability to find joy, worth and meaning in life.

See also

Psychology of torture