Broken Hearted? Consider Tylenol
Acetaminophen (best known as Tylenol) is usually taken to relieve physical pain, but a new study suggests that acetaminophen may also help ease the psychological pain of rejection, such as heartache.
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In a study of 62 healthy undergraduate students, one group took 1,000 milligrams of acetaminophen daily, while the other group took a placebo. For 3 weeks each evening the participants were asked to report to what degree they were experiencing social pain using the “Hurt Feelings Scale”, which is a measure widely used by psychologists.
While those who were taking the placebo reported no change in hurt feelings, those who were taking the acetaminophen reported fewer hurt feelings and social pain over the course of the study.
In a second study, healthy students either took 2,000 milligrams daily of acetaminophen or a placebo. After 3 weeks, the participants played a computer game designed to simulate social rejection. The student participants underwent functional MRIs while they were playing the computer game.z
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When it became apparent that they were being rejected, those who had been taking the acetaminophen had reduced neural responses in the areas of the brain associated with the emotional response to pain, compared to those who had been taking the placebo.
According to study author C. Nathan DeWall, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, “When you experience something that is socially painful, your body is going to experience it in much the same way as it would experience physical pain. By numbing physical pain, you should numb people to social pain. And that’s what we’ve found.”
The researchers theorize that acetaminophen may have this effect because the areas in the brain that process physical pain and emotional pain overlap. What works to reduce pain in one area may reduce pain in the other area. The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science.
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