Are you feeling blue? Do you need a pick-me-up? Are you constantly frowning? Maybe you need something less incisive than therapy and mood-altering than pills. Maybe it’s time for Botox! Why wrestle with your demons when you can inject them with botulism? Time brings us the heart-warming, face-freezing story of researchers who have recently studied a possible link between Botox and happiness:
The study, published in the March issue of the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, followed 25 cosmetic-surgery patients, 12 of whom received injections of Botulinum Toxin A or similar neurotoxins, the others receiving fillers, peels or other cosmetic treatments for wrinkles. Two weeks after the treatments, the patients filled out a Hospital Anxiety and Depression test — a self-screening questionnaire for depression and anxiety. They also rated the success of their treatments. “The Botox patients scored much lower on measures of depression, anxiety and irritability,” explains Michael Lewis, a psychology professor at the University of Cardiff and lead author of the study.
There is so much wrong here. First, 25 patients is not anywhere near a respectable sample size. Second, the patients self-screened their anxiety and depression levels rather than being evaluated by mental health professionals. Third, this concentrated on the happiness relative to a two-week period following one Botox treatment, hardly a valuable indicator of any long-term mood changes. But whatever, let’s treat it like reliable science so we can show people (especially women) how happy getting cosmetic enhancements will make you! As for the theory behind the Botox-happiness link, the scientists cited in the article believe that actually paralyzing your muscles so that you are unable to frown will trick your brain into thinking you are happy. Do any of you buy it? Personally, I’ll stick with my therapist. It’s not fun, but at least I’m not being injected with toxic material and my face moves when I smile.
How much did Allergan pay the doctors responsible for this study?
Guess what else I bet you my monthly weed money would reliably make people happier?
1. a month of federally-mandated vacation leave
2. the return of the medical orgasm, this time covered by insurance http://www.slate.com/id/2121835/slideshow/2121919/
3. living a life free from the kind of societal pressure that makes you think PARALYZING your FACIAL MUSCLES with BOTULISM and NEEDLES will make you happier
I have been ridiculously pissy all day. Turns out I just need a dose of NEUROTOXINS injected into my FACE! Why didn’t I think of that before?!
Personally, I prefer things such as puppies to botulism. Anyone with me on that?
What if I ingest the Botox? WILL THAT MAKE ME HAPPIER???
What’s sad is those ladies are probably self-reporting happiness b/c they’re happy their wrinkles are gone.
I’ll stick with puppies. Although I suspect I’m going to get those frowny-lines between my eyebrows one of these years. And probably sooner than I’d like.
@Becky Sharper: Maybe those ladies are “self-reporting happiness” because they focus a lot of energy on what they are supposed to be like. And a lady should never complain.
(also — my first time commenting! I have huge crushes on all the Harpies.)
@Becky: If I keep reading about studies like these, I will definitely have a lot of the frowny-lines.
@Clouds: Welcome!
@ Clouds: Hey, sending love backatcha!
Yep, definitely a case of ZOMG, I won’t be happy until I look the way I “should.”
That said, I do know kids from high school who had hideous acne and were pretty severely depressed. When Accutane cleared their skin, the depression improved significantly. I would never have said they shouldn’t have taken the drug. Our emotions are so tied to how we feel about ourselves and others reactions to us and the teen years are the worst in that regard.
@BeckySharper: Yea, I definitely feel better about myself when my skin looks good. But then I just find other things to worry/complain/nitpick about. Yay, womanhood!
But there’s a difference between Accutane, a legitimate drug, and a completely unnecessary injection of chemicals into your face. So maybe these women are equating so much of their happiness on their looks… maybe they’re the cast of Real Housewives of Orange County?
ICK. I would be willing to bet is has nothing whatsoever to do with the Botox itself and a whole lot to do with the questionnaires (I assume the patients were fully aware what they were intending to measure, based on the questions) and the incredibly quick recovery time and appearance of results for Botox compared to the other procedures studied. And did they measure depression/anxiety before the procedures for both sets of patients? And then factor out the placebo effect of having a cosmetic procedure after healing for both groups of patients? Ugh, I hate this kind of crappy science journalism.
The reason this gets to me so much: I’ve gotten chronic migraines since I was about 8. For 2 years when I was in high school, I got Botox injections as a treatment. 15 of them all around my head, including the forehead where it’s injected cosmetically. It sucked. It did not make me happy. Anecdotal and all, sure, but I still think this study (and/or the reporting on it) is crap.
Yeah, acne can be pretty brutal, especially as it typically strikes when one’s self esteem is the most impressionable – in adolescence.
Acne is a legitimate problem – wrinkles are something natural that occurs over time.
Also, I’ve always thought that people who have their faces botoxed are kinda creepy looking – no matter how much you piss them off, their foreheads never move!
The U.S. may be pushing Botox, but Canada knows the potential hazards of Botox, and they are pretty serious (1-14-09 article):
Botox Safety Label Updated for Serious Side Effects, Health Canada Said
http://www.newsinferno.com/archives/4545