It's no secret that there's no cure for a heartbreak. And while the biggest relationship gurus would like to profess the idea of letting time be your sole healer, science now believes that there's another – more medicinal – way to ease heartbreak.
Ibuprofen – one of the most commonly available and consumed painkillers – can actually help deal with heartbreak and sore heads, but only in women, according to a study by University of California researchers.
Also read: Painkillers might be killing your emotions
In their report, the scientists claim that women, who take ibuprofen, have a chance of feeling less upset due to a failed relationship. It was shown via a study that pro-ibuprofen women experienced less hurt from social rejection or while recalling a betrayal encountered in the past.
Sadly, the survey's effects did not apply to men.
The volunteers for this study took part in a virtual game of 'catch' – where others stopped throwing a ball to them, or they had to write about a betrayal by someone close, Daily Mail Online reported. As it turned out, the women who reported less social pain, later on, were the ones on ibuprofen.
The researchers said the drug is capable of blunting female sensitivities. However, it worked the opposite way in men as it disrupted the manly urge to suppress emotional pain.
Published in the journal Policy Insights from the Behavioural and Brain Sciences, the report sums up multiple studies, which have found out that patients who took paracetamol were less likely to be distressed by unpleasant images or by reading about other people's suffering.
They also discussed how the drug could be used to help with problems such as depression and even social anxiety disorder. However, the study's lead author Dr Kyle Ratner claims that the findings are 'alarming' as consumers do not usually anticipate psychological effects from painkillers, the UK daily reported.
It was also noted in the said study that people who popped painkillers more frequently, also made more errors when involved in playing a game, or asked to follow a certain way regarding their performance.
Other experts have also stated that emotional pain – as frustrating as it could be at the time – is actually a healthy response which helps leading one towards recovery.
