Taking a painkiller can numb emotional pain, say experts
Paracetamol could be used to help treat emotional pain and anxiety, according to a new Canadian study.
It found that the common painkiller could help alleviate the symptoms of existential dread - the anxiety that arises from uncertainty surrounding the meaning of life and death.
The researchers knew from previous research that both physical and social pain - such as bumping your head or falling out with friends - can be alleviated with paracetamol.
Lead researcher Daniel Randles from the University of British Columbia said: ‘Pain extends beyond tissue damage and hurt feelings, and includes the distress and existential angst we feel when we're uncertain or have just experienced something surreal.
'Regardless of the kind of pain, taking [paracetamol] seems to inhibit the brain signal that says something is wrong.’
He and his colleagues speculated that the uneasiness we feel when faced with thoughts of death might involve similar brain processes.
They wondered whether it would it be possible to numb that type of suffering with a simple pain medicine, too.
The study involved 120 university students who were divided into two groups. One group was given a 1000mg pill of Tylenol, an American brand of paracetamol, and the other was given a placebo sugar pill.
Some from both groups were asked to write about dental pain while the rest were asked to write about what would happen to them after they died.
All participants were then asked to read about the arrest of a prostitute.
Participants were asked to set an amount for bail, ranging from nothing to £325, for the hypothetical prostitute.
The humble paracetamol was shown to alleviate symptoms of anxiety
As expected, the control group who wrote about dental pain - who felt no existential anxiety - gave relatively low bail amounts of around £195.
However, those who wrote about their own death and took no paracetamol, gave the highest amounts, suggesting a fee of around £260.
The second part of the study required watching a surrealist video by director David Lynch and then a video of rioters.
Researchers found that people who took paracetamol were less judgmental about the behaviour of the rioters.
The study demonstrated that existentialist dread is not limited to thinking about death, but can be experienced in any situation which is unpredictable or surprising.
'We’re still taken aback that we’ve found that a drug used primarily to alleviate headaches can also make people numb to the worry of thinking about their deaths, or to the uneasiness of watching a surrealist film,' said Randles.
The researchers believe that these studies may have implications for new treatments in the future.
'For people who suffer with chronic anxiety, or are overly sensitive to uncertainty, this work may shed some light on what is happening and how their symptoms could be reduced,' concluded Randles.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2311655/Popping-paracetamol-help-treat-EMOTIONAL-pain.html#ixzz2RCxX3Phy
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