As pain is a sensation generated in the brain, the validity of the distinction that is often made between physical and psychic pain can be questioned. We postulate that the distinction is irrelevant for the person experiencing pain or grief. Both physical and psychic pain, as well as other causes, can lead to mental suffering. The medical profession, and society in general, take psychic pain and mental suffering much less seriously than physical pain. We discuss existential depression, which affects the stability and integrity of the entire personality, and argue for a more prominent place of psychic pain and mental suffering in medical and bio-ethical discourses.