Static Damage?

I've had my laptop for about four days now and three times so far I've accidentally had a static shock when using the touchpad for the first time in a while (every time the laptop's been on, too). It's definitely a shock from me (not the laptop) because it happens when I touch other metal objects (it seems to be after using the mouse on my desktop for a while, I'm guessing the rubbing against the mouse mat is causing static build-up).
Do I need to worry about damage to the laptop from these shocks? I'd assume that manufacturers would anticipate that static shocks might happend, and protect against them? If not, anything I should look out for?

Cheers.

P.S. It's a HP 8510p.

 

Buy a humidifier--your house is too dry now that the furnace is coming on

As for a static shock damaging your notebook...well, a static charge can damage your electronics, but in all seriousness, the odds are pretty long that you will damage something.

 

The plastic chassis (body) of the laptop should, by design, be properly grouunded such that no ESDs will make contact with the internal electronic components. You should be OK unless you own a Toshiba Satellite A70 .