By Kaila Hamilton

If you’ve had the pleasure of experiencing the annual Texas Tribune Festival for yourself, then you know there is no shortage of conversation on a variety of topics that will often leave you eager to do a deep dive as soon as you get the chance. As a first-timer, I was (positively) overwhelmed with panels and one-on-ones — every conversation flowing with insight that I was eager to soak in. The Texas Tribune saved the best for last, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta graced the stage to present the closing remarks. Here is the rundown on what the CNN chief medical correspondent and neurosurgeon shared with us:

Did you know that your brain can’t tell the difference between pain from a broken heart and pain from stubbing your toe?

“The biggest thing [regarding pain] we have learned over the last few centuries, frankly, is that there really is no difference between emotional pain, psychic pain and physical pain when it comes to the brain. Someone might have pain from loneliness. It’s remarkable how similar that might look to physical pain in the brain,” said Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He said that if you were to compare neuroimages from someone suffering physical pain with those from someone suffering emotional pain, there would be overlap — the same parts of the brain activate and respond in the exact same way.

Furthermore, Gupta explained that RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) might sometimes be less effective in treating long-term chronic pain. Another method called MEAT (movement, exercise, analgesia and treatment) is an approach often used in sports medicine. The idea is that movement and exercise can stimulate muscle receptors and aid in quicker recovery than stabilization and isolation. This depends on the type of injury. Gupta said that in many instances, mobilization is key to letting the body recover.

So what does this mean exactly? We will leave the diagnoses to medical professionals like Gupta. However, it might be a good point to make the next time you want to guilt your partner into getting a new puppy after they’ve already said no. Just tell them, “I’ve heard from a very credible source that the emotional pain from not having a cute labradoodle is the same as a broken leg. You want me to suffer from a broken leg?”