Tylenol to heal heartbreak

[PintoBean]

Placebo effect with a side helping of liver and gastrointestinal toxicity.

"paracetamol toxicity is one of the most common causes of poisoning worldwide. In the United States and the United Kingdom it is the most common cause of acute liver failure."

It's one of those run of the mill OTC drugs everyone is taking. What could go wrong?

I don't think it's necessarily the placebo effect. People in states of high anxiety or other emotional distress do experience various types of inflammation in their body. I think it has been demonstrated that NSAIDs can sometimes help. In fact, I do occasionally use 400 mg of Ibuprofen for this exact purpose. On the other hand, I totally agree with you that liver toxicity and GI bleeding (especially for the dose mentioned by the OP) is an extreme concern.