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If Cheech and Chong never seemed lonely, a groundbreaking new study suggests it wasn't simply because they had each other.
For the first time, researchers have uncovered compelling evidence that marijuana not only reduces physical pain but acts as a buffer against emotional pain as well. The study draws on a sample of nearly 6,800 people of diverse ages and backgrounds, and uses multiple experimental designs, both short and long-term.
Weed was consistently found to lessen the negative emotional consequences of exclusion — an effect likely related to the similar ways in which the brain recognizes physical and emotional pain. The researchers suggest this hidden benefit explains some of the drug's popularity, with users warding off the blues one toke at a time.
"Marijuana use does appear to be shielding people from some of the negative consequences normally associated with loneliness," said Timothy Deckman, lead author of the Social Psychological & Personality Science paper. "But it's also important to note that when people's need to belong is being met, marijuana use doesn't have positive mental consequences."
Across four experiments whose outcomes were measured at different points in time (ranging from immediate to two years), and wherein social exclusion occurred both naturally and in a controlled setting, researchers reached a number of key conclusions.
First, that the relationship between loneliness and feelings of self-worth is significantly weaker for people who frequently use marijuana; second, that frequent marijuana use appears to reduce the likelihood of major depression among people who've experienced social pain; and third, during times of ostracism, people who regularly use marijuana are less likely to feel a sense of threat related to not belonging.
Study co-author C. Nathan DeWall said the findings lend insight into the ways people may be self-medicating.
"Social pain, which we know is as harmful to people as smoking and obesity, is invisible. A lot of times, people don't want to talk about it, so they may resort to strategies like using drugs to numb themselves," said DeWall, professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky.
As for why weed dulls loneliness — given frequent enough use that it lingers in a person's system — researchers propose it's because physical and social pain set off similar circuitry in the brain, despite being processed differently. Recent research by DeWall, for instance, has shown that acetaminophen (ie; Tylenol) can decrease the social discomfort of exclusion.
"Humans are extremely efficient creatures. Instead of creating a new system to respond to social pain, evolution simply co-opts the existing system for physical pain," said DeWall. "Using that logic, if you numb people to one type of pain, you should numb them to the other."
Although the study acknowledges marijuana's potential to remedy emotional aches, it stops short of endorsing it as a coping mechanism. Instead, DeWall proposes a strategy less likely to see people on the wrong side of the law (in Canada, cannabis is only permitted for medical use and requires a doctor's approval).
"Social pain is easy to treat," said DeWall. "Giving people a taste of acceptance and inclusion, making them feel like they're a part of the group, will often times eliminate the negative effects of loneliness pretty rapidly."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: canada.com
Author: Misty Harris
Contact: canada.com - About Us - Contact Us
Website: This bud
For the first time, researchers have uncovered compelling evidence that marijuana not only reduces physical pain but acts as a buffer against emotional pain as well. The study draws on a sample of nearly 6,800 people of diverse ages and backgrounds, and uses multiple experimental designs, both short and long-term.
Weed was consistently found to lessen the negative emotional consequences of exclusion — an effect likely related to the similar ways in which the brain recognizes physical and emotional pain. The researchers suggest this hidden benefit explains some of the drug's popularity, with users warding off the blues one toke at a time.
"Marijuana use does appear to be shielding people from some of the negative consequences normally associated with loneliness," said Timothy Deckman, lead author of the Social Psychological & Personality Science paper. "But it's also important to note that when people's need to belong is being met, marijuana use doesn't have positive mental consequences."
Across four experiments whose outcomes were measured at different points in time (ranging from immediate to two years), and wherein social exclusion occurred both naturally and in a controlled setting, researchers reached a number of key conclusions.
First, that the relationship between loneliness and feelings of self-worth is significantly weaker for people who frequently use marijuana; second, that frequent marijuana use appears to reduce the likelihood of major depression among people who've experienced social pain; and third, during times of ostracism, people who regularly use marijuana are less likely to feel a sense of threat related to not belonging.
Study co-author C. Nathan DeWall said the findings lend insight into the ways people may be self-medicating.
"Social pain, which we know is as harmful to people as smoking and obesity, is invisible. A lot of times, people don't want to talk about it, so they may resort to strategies like using drugs to numb themselves," said DeWall, professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky.
As for why weed dulls loneliness — given frequent enough use that it lingers in a person's system — researchers propose it's because physical and social pain set off similar circuitry in the brain, despite being processed differently. Recent research by DeWall, for instance, has shown that acetaminophen (ie; Tylenol) can decrease the social discomfort of exclusion.
"Humans are extremely efficient creatures. Instead of creating a new system to respond to social pain, evolution simply co-opts the existing system for physical pain," said DeWall. "Using that logic, if you numb people to one type of pain, you should numb them to the other."
Although the study acknowledges marijuana's potential to remedy emotional aches, it stops short of endorsing it as a coping mechanism. Instead, DeWall proposes a strategy less likely to see people on the wrong side of the law (in Canada, cannabis is only permitted for medical use and requires a doctor's approval).
"Social pain is easy to treat," said DeWall. "Giving people a taste of acceptance and inclusion, making them feel like they're a part of the group, will often times eliminate the negative effects of loneliness pretty rapidly."
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: canada.com
Author: Misty Harris
Contact: canada.com - About Us - Contact Us
Website: This bud
