Jump to content

Tylenol As a Fighter's Aid? 10% Reduction of Empathy to the Pain of Others | acetaminophen (paracetamol)


Recommended Posts

I'm not usually interested in the chemical ways that the fighting experience can be enhanced or improved upon, but I found this 2016 study that Tylenol dampens one's empathy towards the pain of others provocative. It was not only the physical pain of others, but also their social pain. "From painkiller to empathy killer: acetaminophen (paracetamol) reduces empathy for pain" (2016). The effect was not pronounced, this interview on the subject suggests maybe a 10% reduction: "Researchers Examine Why Tylenol Affects Empathy" (2016) (the study seems to indicate something along the lines of 5-8% maybe), but it does present a really interesting side-effect for a very common over the counter drug.

I can't imagine that experienced fighters would benefit much from this as overcoming the psychological impact of the potential pain of others is a large part of developing as a fighter, but it does make some sense that 2 Tylenol might be worth taking if you are having a first fight, or even a fight in the first 10. Maybe that 10% difference in empathy threshold could mean something to you. (Note: even though it is an over the counter drug Tylenol in larger doses can wreck your liver and even be life threatening. This is not something you want to pound.) The idea might be to dull your own pain, a bit, and your sensitivity to the pain of others.

It's super interesting that some of the theorizing about why a drug might reduce both involves the way that pain is modeled, that there is some sense in which the mechanism by which we feel our own pain is also involved in our feeling for, virtually experiencing, the pain of others.

While people who are drawn to fighting often imagine that there shouldn't be an issue here, there really can be lots of difficulty in not only hurting others, but also the humiliation given to them by making them look bad, or giving a loss. Sure, lots of fighters can take on hyper-aggressive persona which act like they don't care, but underappreciated is that many people who are drawn to fighting are quite sensitive, and many are wounded themselves. The ability to negotiate the domination of others, the hurting of others, can involve a great deal of personal development. Could Tylenol, in some cases, help ease that development? It's at least worth thinking about.

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is really interesting! I’m train Muay Thai, am a mother, and have my first fight in March. One of the biggest things I struggle with is actually wanting to hurt someone else. Sometimes that instinct kicks in and sometimes it does, although I’m getting better at letting it happen. 
 

This might be a good way to boost that in a pinch. 

  • Like 1
  • Heart 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/16/2020 at 7:04 PM, CSIBMOD said:

This might be a good way to boost that in a pinch. 

I'm not really sure it would have a noticeable impact, but, given that it's a very light pain medication, perhaps worth taking preventively before a fight, maybe this small other additional effect could take the edge off a little? 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Kevin von Duuglas-Ittu said:

I'm not really sure it would have a noticeable impact, but, given that it's a very light pain medication, perhaps worth taking preventively before a fight, maybe this small other additional effect could take the edge off a little? 

Yep. Given that I’ll likely have a stress headache anyway, it not a bad idea. 🤣

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Most Recent Topics

  • Latest Comments

    • Hi Warren  It was very quiet when I was there. A few local guys and 2-4 foreigners but that can change and I'm sure this gym has got more popular. You can schedule privates for whenever you want. The attention to detail here is unbelievable and I highly recommend you train at this gym. In my experience, everyone was really good training partners and I learnt loads everyday.  
    • To all the MuayThai enthusiasts who have travelled to Thailand and trained in Muay thai- I would urge you to pls fill this form to share your interests and journey insights. This will help us explore possible ways to improve muay thai gym/training program search experience for the community https://forms.gle/39pBz4wHQ2CXPWNS8 Feel free to DM me if there is any feedback or query.
    • You can look through my various articles which sometimes focuses on this: https://8limbsus.com/muay-thai-forum/forum/23-kevins-corner-muay-thai-philosophy-ethics/ especially the article on Muay Thai as a Rite. The general thought is that Thailand's traditional Muay Thai offers the world an important understanding of self-control in an era which is increasingly oriented towards abject violence for entertainment. There are also arguments which connect Muay Thai to environmental concerns.
  • The Latest From Open Topics Forum

    • Hi, this might be out of the normal topic, but I thought you all might be interested in a book-- Children of the Neon Bamboo-- that has a really cool Martial Arts instructor character who set up an early Muy Thai gym south of Miami in the 1980s. He's a really cool character who drives the plot, and there historically accurate allusions to 1980s martial arts culture. However, the main thrust is more about nostalgia and friendships.    Can we do links? Childrenoftheneonbamboo.com Children of the Neon Bamboo: B. Glynn Kimmey: 9798988054115: Amazon.com: Movies & TV      
    • Davince Resolve is a great place to start. 
    • I see that this thread is from three years ago, and I hope your journey with Muay Thai and mental health has evolved positively during this time. It's fascinating to revisit these discussions and reflect on how our understanding of such topics can grow. The connection between training and mental health is intricate, as you've pointed out. Finding the right balance between pushing yourself and self-care is a continuous learning process. If you've been exploring various avenues for managing mood-related issues over these years, you might want to revisit the topic of mental health resources. One such resource is The UK Medical Cannabis Card, which can provide insights into alternative treatments.
    • Phetjeeja fought Anissa Meksen for a ONE FC interim atomweight kickboxing title 12/22/2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu92S6-V5y0&ab_channel=ONEChampionship Fight starts at 45:08 Phetjeeja won on points. Not being able to clinch really handicapped her. I was afraid the ref was going to start deducting points for clinch fouls.   
    • Earlier this year I wrote a couple of sociology essays that dealt directly with Muay Thai, drawing on Sylvie's journalism and discussions on the podcast to do so. I thought I'd put them up here in case they were of any interest, rather than locking them away with the intention to perfectly rewrite them 'some day'. There's not really many novel insights of my own, rather it's more just pulling together existing literature with some of the von Duuglus-Ittu's work, which I think is criminally underutilised in academic discussions of MT. The first, 'Some meanings of muay' was written for an ideology/sosciology of knowledge paper, and is an overly long, somewhat grindy attempt to give a combined historical, institutional, and situated study of major cultural meanings of Muay Thai as a form of strength. The second paper, 'the fighter's heart' was written for a qualitative analysis course, and makes extensive use of interviews and podcast discussions to talk about some ways in which the gendered/sexed body is described/deployed within Muay Thai. There's plenty of issues with both, and they're not what I'd write today, and I'm learning to realise that's fine! some meanings of muay.docx The fighter's heart.docx
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      1.3k
    • Total Posts
      11k
×
×
  • Create New...