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WrongSubFools t1_iybpzoq wrote

Hilariously misleading article.

The study tested 15 college kids. it studied whether thinking of their romantic partner reduced their pain and changed how they perform mental tasks. It did not compare these results against the students taking cocaine and in fact does not even mention cocaine. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0013309

Did the kids experience less pain? Yes. Through the same pathway as drugs relieve pain? Yes (is here any other pathway for pain reduction?). But is love as strong as cocaine? No! Of course not! Cocaine is incredibly powerful, much better at blocking pain than any psychological method!

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Nothammer t1_iyc4txz wrote

Thankfully someone actually read the article. Anyone who ever did hard drugs and has been in love can tell you that those are not even remotely comparable.

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Only-Study-3912 t1_iyetcjr wrote

Both (cocaine and love) probably activate the pleasure centre of the brain, which can be said for many things (for example eating chocolate, playing slot machines etc). This is sensationalism for absolutely no reason other than the clicks. The key takeaway is that both of these activities are pleasurable.

I hate knowing these things. It makes me really understand how media works very clearly.

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