June 24: Paracetamol, Tylenol, and why people should pause before they speak.

This morning, someone in an advice group I'm in was hurting.

Another person gave them some genuinely solid help and mentioned, almost as an aside, that paracetamol can help with the pain and to follow the recommended dosage.

Enter: the corrector.

"Wow! Ok! So this stuff is Ibuprofen or Tylenol without the NSAIDS. This cures ACTUAL pain from injury or colds, etc. NOT for a pining boyfriend who is in pain with sadness!"

Except, no.

Paracetamol is acetaminophen. Not ibuprofen. Two different things. Strike one.

And the bit about emotional pain? Also wrong.

Over-the-counter pain relievers can dampen emotional pain, because physical and emotional pain share overlapping neural pathways in the brain. This is established, findable, googleable science.

So this person confidently corrected someone... incorrectly... on both counts.

The chaos that followed my post about this was a delight, in the most exhausting way.

"I have no idea if this is true or not, but…" and "I don't know who is correct but I wouldn't doubt it" and my personal favorite:

"Ha ha! You incorrectly corrected her correctly correcting an incorrect!"

I thought more people knew about the pain pathway thing, honestly.

Not just that it can dull emotional pain, but that it also reduces empathetic responses.

Taking pain meds regularly?

You might be slightly less tuned in or compassionate to other people's feelings while you're on them.

Worth knowing.

But here's what I actually want to talk about: the eagerness.

The sheer speed with which people jump to correct, challenge, or dismiss something before spending 30 seconds checking if they're right.

Sir. SIR. Do you not know of Google? 🤣

This happens in relationships all the time.

Your partner shares something that doesn't match what you believe to be true.

And instead of getting curious, instead of asking a question or doing a quick search, you correct them.

You push back.

You might even make them feel small for saying the thing.

While I don't specifically address this scenario in my book, Fight Less, Love More: Simple steps to transform tension into togetherness, curiosity is kind of baked into everything I do.

My company is literally named Curiouser for a reason.

And the book is full of conflict-handling skills that matter in exactly these moments because how you respond when you think your partner is wrong says a lot about the relationship you're actually building.

Reply with "Fight Less" by email or SMS and I'll send you a copy.

--
Rev Heather, aka Nookie, LUQ
https://my.curiouser.life
+1-855-712-5433 (toll-free)

P.S. Does this resonate? Have you been on either end of this—the overcorrector or the one who got corrected?

Hit reply and tell me what happened. I read every one.