Anxious? Suffering from 'existential dread'? Don't fret—researchers at the University of British Columbia have just the thing. And you needn't look far. According to an article in Science Daily, the elixir is right under your nose, a staple in your medicine cabinet that goes by the name Tylenol.
Though you typically pop the pill to allay physical discomfort, like headaches and period pain, the study claims that acetaminophen also helps diminish psychological malaise.
Published in Psychological Science, the study furthers the mind-body connection in that what treats one may also treat the other. The brain is such a complex organ, of which so much is still unknown. Interestingly, it too may be responsive to traditional pain killers.
"Pain exists in many forms, including the distress that people feel when exposed to thoughts of existential uncertainty and death," says lead author Daniel Randles, UBC Dept. of Psychology. "Our study suggests these anxieties may be processed as 'pain' by the brain—but Tylenol seems to inhibit the signal telling the brain that something is wrong."
So, the study says, popping that Tylenol may actually help "non-physical pain" such as feeling alienated from friends.
To measure the effect of acetaminophen, one group took a placebo while the other took the drug before experiencing anxiety-invoking tasks, like writing about death and watching a video by the ever-surreal David Lynch. They were then asked to "assign fines" to various crimes, from public rioting to prostitution.
The drug-taking group were "significantly more lenient" when it came to judging the crimes. Moreover, they were less distressed in the face of dealing with distressing ideas. A side effect of the Tylenol?
"That a drug used primarily to alleviate headaches may also numb people to the worry of thoughts of their deaths, or to the uneasiness of watching a surrealist film—is a surprising and very interesting finding," says Randles.
But before you go reaching for mother's little helper, researchers cautioned that more clinical trials and research are necessary. But if you do plan on watching a David Lynch film, know that it'll take more than popcorn to get you through.
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