Can Anti Wrinkle Injections Help Depression ?
- Wix Mr Bin
- Feb 20, 2021
- 3 min read
Updated: May 27
Disclaimer: This article is intended to provide our readers with factual & researched information and does not to promote a prescription product or AWI as a cure for depression
In order to help educate the public when they are considering a non-surgical procedure, we’ve put together this article to increase awareness of what certain injectable treatments can or cannot achieve.
Can Anti-Wrinkle Injections Help Depression
In a series of trials from 2006 to 2019, positive effects on mood were observed in subjects who underwent treatment of their glabellar frown lines with botulinum toxin.
Researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego have studied the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Adverse Effect Reporting System (FAERS) database to see what nearly 40,000 people reported happened to them after treatment with anti-wrinkle injections for a variety of reasons.
A common symptom in patients who are stressed and feeling low, is that the activity of their Glabellar muscles that cause frowns is very much increased. Carefully administered injections to this area may result in an improvement in their mental health.
Negative Emotions
During the COVID Lockdowns, many of us were feeling especially Anxious & Lonely.
Negative feelings such as fear, sadness or anger cause us to scrunch-up and contract our forehead muscles which worsen any frown lines.
According to a study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, March 2020 Anti-wrinkle Injections make you happy by preventing your face muscles from frowning. Being physically unable to express certain facial expressions (such as frowning) positively influences your mood.
Here Comes The Science Bit!
Anti-Wrinkle Injections contain chemicals that produce nerve impulses that travel to the Amygdala, which is the part of your brain that is responsible for processing emotions. Research has proven that these injections can help makes patients feel happy, by not only preventing frowning, but also by influencing brain activity.
Facial Feedback Loop
Our facial expressions send feedback to our brain. The benefit that these type of injections have for helping with depression is how it works on this ‘Facial Feedback’ loop.
When we feel depressed, the activity of the muscles which cause these frown lines is increased. Hence, freezing these frowning muscles can often result in improved mood.
Facial muscles directly influence brain activity, which may be why people who get Botox® feel happier than they did before the treatment.
What is the Glabellar region?
It is the area beneath the skin between your eyebrows and above the bridge of your nose. Researchers think that injecting Anti-Wrinkle Injections into the glabella can disrupt the feedback-loop between your brain and negative facial expressions.
How Long Does It Last?
The treatment may take as few as six weeks to start having a noticeable effect on mood following a single treatment. How long the treatment might work for depression is unclear.
Mental Health Advice
If you are feeling depressed, always chat to your GP first & they will guide you in the right direction.
We do not recommend using Anti-Wrinkle Treatments to cure depression instead of seeking the help of a specialist mental health professional.
Research Data
Research has found that Anti-Wrinkle Treatments can be an effective treatment for certain forms of depression.
According to researchers at the University of California San Diego, patients who received this type of treatment were between 40 -80 % less likely to report depression.
They observed 40,000 people who received Anti-Wrinkle treatments, under strict medical guidance, for a variety of conditions ranging from cosmetic treatments to migraines, muscle spasms, and incontinence.
They discovered that the people who received these type of injections reported depression significantly less often than patients undergoing different treatments for the same conditions.
In a series of trials from 2006 to 2019, positive effects on mood have been observed in subjects who underwent treatment of their glabellar frown lines with botulinum toxin.
Included below are some links to helpful information
Comments