Feeling Rejected? Study Suggests a Tylenol Will Ease the Psychological Pain
Feeling rejected by that cute guy you met at a Christmas party? Get left off an invitation list? No problem, just take a Tylenol. That's the surprising result of a new study
that says you can treat psychological pain the same way as physical pain.
Getting the snub from friends can feel like a slap in the face. Now researchers say treating such social pain may be as easy as popping a pain pill. They warn, however, that more research is needed before anyone tries the approach.
The finding builds on research showing that psychological blows not only feel like they hurt us, they actually do. For instance, scientists have found a gene linked with both physical pain and a person's sensitivity to rejection. And some of the same brain regions are linked with both pain types.
So perhaps it's not surprising that a painkiller would alleviate both as well.
"The idea that a drug designed to alleviate physical pain should reduce the pain of social rejection seemed simple and straightforward based on what we know about neural overlap between social and physical pain systems," said lead researcher C. Nathan DeWall of the University of Kentucky. "To my surprise, I couldn't find anyone who had ever tested this idea."
But DeWall warns more research is needed to firm up the results. "Our findings do not constitute a call for widespread use of acetaminophen to cope with all types of personal problems," the researchers write in a forthcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science.
The study involved two experiments involving acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol.
This particular study used acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol. Two groups of people were psychologically evaluated. Then they were either given a placebo or the painkiller. The subjects played a computer games set up create feelings of social rejection (just the videogame you were hoping to get for Christmas!) while they had their brains scanned.
The painkillers didn't affect overall happiness over time, but those with painkillers felt less pain from being rejected.
FDA Panel Votes to Reduce Maxium Daily Dose of Acetaminophen
The maximum daily dose listed on Tylenol, Excedrin and other over-the-counter painkillers will be reduced if the FDA takes the advice of experts on an FDA advisory panel, which voted Tuesday to reduce the maximum dose. There are concerns that using too much of a painkiller containing acetaminophen can cause liver damage.
The FDA advisory panel voted 21-16 Tuesday to lower the maximum daily dose of nonprescription acetaminophen, which is currently 4 grams - equal to eight pills of a drug such as Extra Strength Tylenol. The panel was not asked to recommend another maximum daily dose.
The panel also voted 24-13 to limit the maximum single dose of acetaminophen to 650 milligrams. The current single dose of Extra Strength Tylenol, for instance, is 1,000 milligrams.
The panel also voted 26-11 to make the 1,000-milligram dose of acetaminophen available only by prescription.
US News says the FDA is not obligated to follow the advice of its advisory panels but it usually does.
The maximum daily dose listed on Tylenol, Excedrin and other over-the-counter painkillers will be reduced if the FDA takes the advice of experts on an FDA advisory panel, 
