Tylenol can "ward off existential dread of death and nothingness"

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/10/03/tylenol-can-ward-off-ward-of.html

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ward off "ward off ward off "ward off ward off "ward off

I like the way that song goes…

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By the famous band “You and Your Ward”, obviously.

ETA: don’t think my angst can be numbed by Tylenol/acetaminophen/paracetamol. I know, however, that it damages the liver if I combined it with even the slightest amount of alcohol. And I’m always surprised how many people don’t consider this, at all.

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what, and leave me with actual nothing?

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For a prostitute? Apparently Tylenol just makes you less of an asshat.

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Do you experience feelings of dread in your basement or attic?

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Sure i can take a tylenol but is it as tasty as a good imperial stout or a chocolate donut?

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This is what alcohol is for, since the beginning of civilization. OK?

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From purely anecdotal experience, ibuprofen can do this (but be wary for your stomach. Take with food and/or milk), and ibuprofen with methocarbamol works even better. No, that is not a prescription combination, here, but your pharmaceutical regs may vary.

ETA: again, just personal experience, but anxiety and dread tend to make me kinder. It’s when I am on the other end of the scale that I just react and default to childhood level thinking (i.e. the philosophies I was raised with), which tend to be rather more politically conservative.

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Had to have an emergency root canal done not too long ago. Emergency in that my regular dentist and several other offices I called don’t do any work over the weekend.

I was definitely experiencing existential dread.

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I don’t think stomach irritation is what Sartre meant by nausea. And I agree: set that bail at $0 and don’t waste time arresting prostitutes.

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TLDR, maybe they’re talking about CoTylenol?

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This might work for some people; as for me, I tend to think about death even more every time I take acetaminophen.

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File under: reproducibility crisis in the sciences.

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Probably not, except potentially as placebo effect. Because of mechanism of action. (I am aware of this because there’s a potential connection between acetaminophen use in 10-24 month old babies and the autism spectrum, but we’re not sure yet. The best evidence we have is a statistical drop in the number of ASD diagnoses in people who were 10-24 months old during the 6 months after Tylenol poisoning. It’s JUST a statistical hole with a logical framework for the mechanism right now, but we don’t have in vivo models, so don’t read more into it. Acetaminophen Use for Fever in Children Associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder - PMC)

Aspirin & ibuprofen act are non-selective COX inhibitors, while acetaminophen appears to act on the endogenous cannabinoid system. We know that anything that stimulates the endogenous cannabinoids tends to temporarily limit existential anxieties. (But it’s temporary!)

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There was talk of this three years ago, I recall:

My thought at the time was that perhaps people who are unconsciously repressing physical pain are inclined to be more emotional. But little good comes of such casual speculation.

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And Tramadol. Mmmm-Mmmm. Knocks ten years off, so it does.

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But that’s the best part of my day!

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I had to look that up. Not sure if it is the same muscle relaxant I had a bit ago to help pass a kidney stone but I sure got a better high off of it than the Vicodin.

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Love me my Robax (well, the generic) when I need it.

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