Can Botox Make You Happier?

Eliminate wrinkles, smooth the skin, and erase the traces that years leave on every face — Botox injections can work miracles in one’s appearance.  That’s why Botox is one of the most popular aesthetic treatments going.  But did you know that there’s another positive benefit of Botox — one that gets relatively little attention?

According to researchers from the University of Cardiff, injectible Botox can have a positive effect on the patient’s overall mood and state of mind.  While the study falls short of calling Botox injectible happiness, it does point out that patients who had had Botox treatment (as compared to other aesthic procedures) reported significantly less depression, anxiety, or other negative emotions than those patients in the control group.

Botulinum Toxin A — the official name for Botox — when used in  injections for frown lines paralyse the forehead muscles. This prevents frowning, one of the most common expressions associated with negativity, depression, and anxiety.  The finding that these people are also happier supports the theory that our expressions feed back and impact on our emotions. By preventing you from frowning, the logic goes, Botox injections prevent the expression of negative emotions, resulting in a happier mood.

At this point, Botox injections are not being considered as a primary treatment for clinical depression or serious psychiatric disorders. However, one’s appearance plays a fundamental role in forming one’s self image: the old truism that when you look good, you feel good appears to have some basis in fact.  It’s important to remember that just as the appearance altering effect of Botox is temporary, so is the mood altering effect.  However, the relatively affordability of Botox treatments — particularly when coupled with other procedures during medical tourism trips to Thailand — makes this a relatively minor concern.