Patients of any age who want a facelift alternative are often turning to BOTOX to improve how young they look — but also to foster a more pleasant appearance and feel happier overall. A recent study has revealed that BOTOX has some positive effects on mood. Researchers even identified BOTOX as a valid adjunct treatment to help counter depression in some patients. According to the study, a single treatment with BOTOX can often help achieve sustained alleviation of depression in people who failed to benefit from an oral medication therapy. In effect, the study confirms that BOTOX does have effects that are more than skin deep, and that the positive lifestyle benefits many BOTOX patients feel go beyond just the physical.
When you take BOTOX injections to remove wrinkles, a targeted group of muscles that normally pulls facial tissues downward is relaxed, and at the same time restricts your ability to frown. As a result, many BOTOX patients tend to smile more. Studies show that smiling does not just make you look happier; actively smiling more releases chemicals that support positive emotion and good mood overall.
Anthropological studies have also found that when you see faces, you tend to mirror their expression; this is a normal, habitual reflex that we do all the time, even if for just a moment. When you see someone smiling, you tend to reciprocate. With this in mind, it’s easy to see how a more positive appearance can create a “ripple effect,” where you smile more, feel more positive, and evoke that same positive look and feeling in others around you. Even if the effect is minor and brief, it still impacts your interactions and how other people perceive you, all in positive ways.
BOTOX injections are primarily used to treat the upper part of the face, where anger, worries, and other negative emotions are expressed. Over a period of time, BOTOX may work to indirectly dampen negative feelings, thus giving you more time to feel good and smile inside and out.
The science is clear: BOTOX is more than just a wrinkle treatment, and in many patients in can help foster health and happiness on a much deeper level, too.
Dr. Berkowitz is a board-certified, fellowship-trained oculofacial surgeon focusing on advanced cosmetic surgery procedures to enhance and restore the face. With over 16 years of experience in facial surgery specifically, Dr. Berkowitz has an extensive background in both cosmetic and reconstructive procedures to correct an extensive range of concerns ranging from the natural damage of aging to highly specialized procedures to correct for burns and injuries.
