Plastic Surgery Madison

Chin Up: Botox Can Make You Feel Better Too, Studies Suggest

June 11th, 2014

Is your appearance making you grumpy? Could changing your face also change your mood?

Two recent studies support the facial feedback hypothesis, that a person’s expression directly influences their mood. Using Botox to relax the facial muscles that produce unhappy expressions can help alleviate depression, research shows.

“There are several nerves, about 12 of them, that go straight into the brain through the skull,” psychiatrist Norman Rosenthal told the Washington Post.

His study with physician Eric Finzi, published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, gathered 33 patients who met criteria for major depression. In the group, 17 of the subjects who received Botox injections showed at least a 50 percent improvement score in their depression symptoms.

The study proves Botox can be an effective supplement or alternative to anti-depressants and psychotherapy for treating depression, Rosenthal said. Botox, which doesn’t enter the bloodstream, has no known side effects.

Another trial, presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in New York last month, also showed Botox injections to be effective in relieving clinical depression.

German researchers gave 30 patients — with both observable frowns and an insufficient response to standard treatments for depression — either Botox injections or saline injections (placebo group). After six weeks, depression indicators for the Botox patients dropped by an average of 47 percent, compared with 9 percent for placebo patients.

At Madison Cosmetic Surgery, we offer a full range of non-surgical skin care options to our patients. When you receive Botox treatments in Madison, Wisconsin, we are confident you will be pleased by your smoother, more-youthful appearance.

Contact us anytime to schedule a free private consultation. Dr. Clifford King focuses on customized treatment planning for your individual needs, giving all of his patients beautiful, natural-looking results that will have you smiling for months.

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