14 DAY TRIAL // Most people label Tylenol as no more and no less than a run-off-the-mill pain drug. However, a team of University of British Columbia researchers now claims that this drug can also help people better cope with their fears and anxieties over death.
The assumption that Tylenol might also help people deal with their so-called existential dread is based on several previous studies that have shown that acetaminophen, which is the generic form of Tylenol, does pose certain psychological benefits.
More precisely, it was discovered that the non-physical pain experienced by those who had been treated poorly by their friends is easier to overcome with the help of this chemical compound.
Based on the findings of these previous investigations, the University of British Columbia researchers wished to determine if it was possible for Tylenol to also ease other types of non-physical pain.
According to EurekAlert!, these researchers gave a group of volunteers either acetaminophen or a placebo, and then exposed them to circumstances that fostered existential dread.
Thus, the volunteers were made to write about death and watch a surreal David Lynch video.
After that, they were asked to determine how people who had committed various types of crime would be best fined.
By the looks of it, the volunteers who had been given acetaminophen proved both rather lenient in terms of judging the severity of the crimes, and less likely to be bothered by thoughts about death.
“Pain exists in many forms, including the distress that people feel when exposed to thoughts of existential uncertainty and death,” study lead author Daniel Randles commented with respect to the findings of these experiments.
“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,” he further elaborated on this issue.
Presently, the researchers warn that, until further investigations and clinical trials are carried out, Tylenol is best not to be labeled as a proper and efficient way to treat anxiety.