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Take Two Tylenol for Social Pain and Anxiety?

Q: Can over the counter medicine help me with social anxiety and rejection?

A: During my career as a counselor, I was aware of the physical pain that goes with emotional pain. Cognitive behavioral therapy includes not only the emotional part of you, but also your body. To take this a step further, I learned some Chinese medicine qi healing and Reiki to help clients with the physical pain of their emotional difficulties. The body, mind and spirit work together. Now enlightened scientists and physicians are taking this concept seriously.

A recent scientific study showed that acetaminophen, Tylenol, helped people with social anxiety reduce not only the body pain, but the emotional pain. The acetaminophen reduced neural responses to social rejection in brain regions associated with social anxiety. A 1000 mg daily dose was used during the study. So if you try this, you need to be careful because acetaminophen has been shown to damage the liver.

But the good news is that scientists and doctors are acknowleding that emotional pain and body pain are related, and more studies will follow, and more help for your body, mind and spirit.

In the meantime, talk with your doctor to make sure that it's safe for you to take acetaminophen/Tylenol to try it to see if it works for you.

Good luck. Let me know how things work out for you.

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