Anxiety? Existential crisis? David Lynch film?

Take a Tylenol - latimes 3/9/19, 9'14 AM

Anxiety? Existential crisis? David

Lynch film? Take a Tylenol
Are you suffering from an existential crisis? Take two Tylenol and call me in
the morning.

New research suggests that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol,

may be able to alleviate the pain of an existential crisis in the same way it
alleviates the pain of a pounding headache.

An over-the-counter pill for those crushing moments of uncertainty? Yes,

please.

Previous studies have shown that physical pain and social pain -- like the pain
of feeling left out of a game -- have evolved to use similar neurological
mechanisms. They activate the same regions in the brain that respond to
unpleasantness. When you take acetaminophen, MRI scans have shown,
those parts of your brain activate less and you register less pain -- be it the
pain of a sprained ankle or the pain of feeling left out.

Building off this research, scientists in Steve Heine's lab at the University of
British Columbia wanted to see if acetaminophen could also dampen those
feelings of uncomfortable uncertainty that occur when our sense of the
meaning of life is threatened -- like when we think about our death or watch a
surrealist film.

To test their theory, they ran two experiments. First, they asked participants
to write a few paragraphs about what will happen to their bodies when they
die. In the second experiment, they showed participants a clip from David
Lynch's 2002 film "Rabbits."

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/18/science/la-sci-sn-tylenol-existential-crisis-20130417 Page 1 of 2
Anxiety? Existential crisis? David Lynch film? Take a Tylenol - latimes 3/9/19, 9'14 AM

Both experiences were designed to make participants feel unpleasantly

uncomfortable, but researchers found that those who were taking Tylenol
were less affected by the experiences than those who were taking a placebo.

The study was published in the Assn. for Psychological Science journal
Psychological Science.

But before you run out to raid your local pharmacy for Tylenol and other
painkillers that contain acetaminophen, lead author Daniel Randles says hold
off.

"The results for us were fairly robust, but I wouldn't recommend that people
take Tylenol when they are feeling down," he said. "We'd like to see other labs
replicate our effort."

Nathan DeWall, a psychology professor at the University of Kentucky, agreed

that it is still too early to suggest that someone suffering from an existential
crisis can be helped by Tylenol, but he likes where all this research is going.

"It is a great study that is broadening our perspective on unpleasantness, and

showing us effective ways we can reduce it," he said.

But if your friends insist on a David Lynch film night, you could always bring
a little Tylenol just in case.

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/apr/18/science/la-sci-sn-tylenol-existential-crisis-20130417 Page 2 of 2