Studies reveal that even subtle, artificial or seemingly unimportant exclusion can lead to strong emotional reactions. A strong reaction makes sense when you are rejected or ignored by your family or close friends, because they are important to you. It is more remarkable that intense feelings of rejection can emerge even when people close to us are not involved. We can feel awful even after people we have never met simply look the other way. This reaction serves an important function. It warns us that something is wrong, that there exists a serious threat to our social and psychological well-being. Psychologists argue that belonging, self-esteem, a sense of control over your life and a belief that existence is meaningful constitute four fundamental psychological needs that we must meet to function as social individuals. Exclusion threatens all these needs. Even in a verbal or physical dispute, individuals are still connected. Total exclusion, however, cuts all bonds. Worse than this, the imposed silence forces us to think about the event in detail, generating self-critical thoughts in our search for an explanation. This forced isolation also makes us feel helpless: You can fight back, but no one will respond. Finally, exclusion makes our very existence feel less meaningful because this type of rejection makes us feel isolated and unimportant.