Injectables, Anything but Superficial. They can help you feel good too!
Could Botox and cosmetic dermal fillers help with depression?? These injectables are typically used to improve the appearance of facial wrinkles, but now studies have shown that Botox may be an effective treatment to help depression. Why not get rid of wrinkles and improve your mood at the same time?!
What is an injectable?
Injectables are really anything injected into the body with a needle. But in the derm world we are referring to dermal fillers (brands like Juvederm, Restylane and Radiesse) and “neurotoxins” (brands like Botox, Dysport and Xeomin). Injectables like these are the number one cosmetic procedure in the US...and for good reason. Not only can they make you look more youthful, they apparently can make you feel better about yourself too!
Is there any proof in studies that Botox can help my mood?
Botox has been investigated and found to ease symptoms of depression and elevate mood in actual scientific studies.
It was first reported in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2009, by Michael Lewis, PhD and Patrick Bowler MB, BS, that non-depressed patients who received Botox injections above the eyes frowned less and felt better than those who did not receive the injection. Dr. Lewis concluded that, “Smiling makes us feel happy whereas frowning makes us feel sad. People who have undergone chemical denervation (with Botox) of their frown muscles cannot frown. We have found that these people (possibly because they can no longer get the feedback from frowning) are happier than people who have had other forms of cosmetic treatment.”
Then in 2012, The Journal of Psychiatry Research reported a study done in Switzerland showing, “a single treatment of the glabellar region with botulinum toxin (Botox) may shortly accomplish a strong and sustained alleviation of depression in patients, who did not improve sufficiently on previous medication. It supports the concept, that the facial musculature not only expresses, but also regulates mood states.” Translation...Botox treated depression in patients that did not respond to antidepressant meds. Impressive!
More recently in a larger study in 2014, Eric Finzi, MD, PhD and Norman Rosenthal, MD (Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown Medical School) showed groundbreaking evidence that there was a significant improvement in depression in the study group treated with Botox. Dr. Eric Finzi even made the comment (in the New York Times) that, “This new research supports earlier facial feedback theory of Charles Darwin which suggests that facial expressions influence mood.”
Can you tell my mood by looking at my expression?
Believe it or not, there is historical support for a connection between emotions and facial muscle activity. Back in the Victorian era the “omega sign” was what they called the facial expression where you wrinkle between your eyebrows and nose because it resembles the Greek letter omega. They believed the “omega sign” was diagnostic of a depressive disorder.
See how this expression can look like the Omega Sign?
With all of this info, it seems possible that a more positive facial expression can make you feel better about the way you look and therefore improve social interaction, elevating your mood. As you look in the mirror and see a face without negative expression it elevates your mood. If you look happy, you start to feel that positive, cheerful vibe!
Where do fillers come in?
Well, if Botox was found to create a more positive outlook in the patients that were studied, why not fillers? Cosmetic dermal fillers have not been directly studied, but they also can create a happier looking face. Fillers can literally turn that frown upside down! This is done by injecting the marionette area (the lines that can develop from the corners of the mouth to the chin). Fillers can be injected in lots of other areas to create a more positive, happy looking face too - like in the cheeks to help defy gravity, or between your eyebrows to get rid of that furrow.