Acetaminophen: reduces pain but also pleasure…

many of us are familiar with acetaminophen and its powerful ability to reduce pain and fever. This over-the-counter medication has also been found to reduce painful emotions and more recently it has been suggested that it may reduce positive feeling as well.

Recent research published in Psychological Science in the journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

this research found that using Tylenol or similar products might have a further reach that had previously been understood. Geoffrey Durso, a doctoral student in social psychology at Ohio State University and the lead author of the study. “Rather than just being a pain reliever, acetaminophen can be seen as an all-purpose emotion reliever.”

The study had control subjects which were given placebo and the remainder were given 1000 mg of acetaminophen. The subjects were then asked to rate photographs as pleasant or unpleasant. The researchers followed up to test a small group of 85 people to see whether the change in judgment from acetaminophen applied just to emotion or whether the drug blunted peoples of evaluation of magnitude in general. This finding suggested that acetaminophen did not alter individual’s sense of magnitude.

Although overwhelming emotion can be very troubling in our having happy fulfilling livesemotions are critical sources of information from our body. Just as physical pain tells us something is wrong so does emotional pain. Just as taking Tylenol to make a headache go away can be problematic if the headache is from a tumor or hypertension numbing emotion can be equally risky. Dr. Charles Davenport works with patients of all ages to provide counseling and therapy services to better understand their own personal difficulties and how they can thrive.

Wall Street Traders may need therapy.

A recent article discussed how therapy can be helpful in addressing career stress. High demand jobs, such as those in the financial sector, can be tremendously rewarding but also take a toll on well-being and our performance. Although stress can help us perform better, it does so only to a point than we see a sharp decline in performance. This decline can be self-perpetuating, as we see our effectiveness decline we are likely to try to work harder. This loop can lead to feeling out of control of our own destiny which frequently is seen with depression and can bring on anxiety.

Dr. Charles R. Davenport works as a Licensed Psychologist Charles R Davenport Psy.D. LLC with offices in Sarasota, Florida and Venice, Florida. If you or someone you care about is struggling with career related stress, anxiety, or depression please call Dr. Davenport’s office at 941-321-1971.

Your psychological well-being may be reflected in your skin

Recent studies by the American psychological Association (APA) suggest a connection between common skin conditions like acne, psoriasis, eczema, itching, pain, and hives may be related to significant experience of stress, anxiety, and depression among other psychological concerns.

To some, this may be expected, to others they may be surprised to hear. has a licensed psychologist I many patient seem to have physical symptoms that are made worse or brought on psychological stress or conflict. Just as our emotions can be a source of critical data about things going on in our body, so can skin conditions according to these recent studies. Many times migraine headaches, increase in autoimmune dysfunction, and gastrointestinal disruption are also seen with increased emotional distress. Many times these physical manifestations suggest that the stress the person is experiencing his overwhelming their ability to let the stress out or cope. Finding new ways to work through overwhelming problems is something Dr. Davenport does with many patients at his practice Charles R. Davenport, Psy.D., LLC. with locations in Venice, FL and Sarasota, FL.

What’s in a diagnosis? Is it even helpful?

The current diagnostic system  has created sharp distinctions between those who are “ill” and those who are not. Labeling people in this way not only affects how society “mental health” but may also interfere with our accurate understanding of what is really occurring and what will be helpful for these people.

This article reports that in 2013 the national Institute of Mental Health’s (NIMH) director announced that psychiatric science had “failed to find unique biological met mechanisms associated with specific diagnoses.” As a result, the institute moved away from diagnosis driven research and instead looked at common underpinnings such as fear rather than anxiety. the move away from pathology allows the chance for questioning why we may be feeling the way we are. a document released by the British Psychological Society, “Understanding Psychosis and Schizophrenia” was referenced in which the authors described hearing voices and feeling paranoid is common experiences which are often the reaction to trauma, abuse, or deprivation. The document suggests that there may be both advantages and disadvantages to the symptoms. I believe this likely is the case with most things that are currently seen as “mental illness.”

Check out this interesting article for more information.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/18/opinion/sunday/t-m-luhrmann-redefining-mental-illness.html