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Ibuprofen - it’s good for a headache, but can it help with social rejection?
A new study says yes, it can - but only if you’re a woman.
Sorry guys!
Hey guys, Tara here for Dnews - and we’ve all taken ibuprofen right?
It’s a pretty standard pain reliever, but a new study from the University of Texas at
Austin - says it can also affect our emotional status.
And depending on your gender, that can be a good thing - or a bad thing.
This study involved 138 men and women, half of whom took 400 mg of ibuprofen, while the
other half took a placebo.
In the first part of the experiment, participants were instructed to play a virtual ball-tossing
game on a computer.
But at some point during the game, they were intentionally socially excluded from the game.
Afterwards, they were asked to rate how they felt about being excluded.
Then, during the second part of the experiment, they were asked to write 2 detailed descriptions
- the first, being a situation where they experienced betrayal in a close relationship,
and the second, a situation where they experienced physical pain.
And once again, they were asked to rate their emotions afterwards.
As it turns out, women who took ibuprofen - were less hurt by being excluded from the
game, and by reliving a painful experience, than men.
And in fact, the men who took ibuprofen - actually experienced a harsher reaction to rejection,
than men who took only a placebo.
So in effect, ibuprofen makes women feel better about being rejected - while for men, it seems
to do the opposite.
Their feelings actually get MORE hurt.
But how could this possibly be?
I mean we’ve all been conditioned to believe that emotional pain is totally separate from
physical pain.
But it turns out - that may not be true.
Recent studies have found that physical pain and emotional pain, activate very similar
regions in the brain.
And in a man’s brain, specifically, evidence suggests that the part of their brain responsible
for regulating emotions, is also linked to the part that processes physical and social
pain.
According to the author of the study, Dr. Anita Vangelisti, if that is indeed true,
then "it's possible that taking physical pain relievers provides men with more cognitive
resources to express the pain they feel.”
But what about women?
Is there something specific in our brains that makes us feel differently?
It’s hard to say exactly what’s at work here, but there have been other studies on
different kinds of pain meds, like acetaminophen, showing that it can reduce anxiety in people
of both genders.
In any case, Vangelisti hopes her study will at least allow men and women to better help
each other deal with hurt feelings.
And future studies, she says, could have interesting implications for children as well.
If the same findings hold true for kids, then it could help them address differences in
the way they respond to things like bullying, and other socially painful situations.
What do you guys think?
Have you ever noticed a change in your emotional state after taking ibuprofen?
Let us know in the comments below, and as always - thank you guys for watching!