Why botox also works as an antidepressant

A little injection here and there, many people are no longer surprised by it. Everyone has their own choice, of course, and I understand it: all those expensive creams claim to really help reduce wrinkles... But the only thing that actually does what it says is botox. Instantly removes your wrinkles. But if you thought that botox was only good for wrinkles, then you are mistaken. Maybe you already knew that botox in your forehead can help a lot against migraines, but botox in your armpit, for example, flattens the sweat glands (or actually the nerves that control those glands), which is really a solution for people who sweat excessively.

These are all physical issues, of course, but botox apparently can also be good for your psyche. A study published in the journal Scientific Reports showed that botox can significantly reduce the chance of depression. They studied this among 40,000 American patients, so you can speak of a reasonably large-scale study.

And the outcome was clear: people who used botox had much less trouble with depression. But the reason behind it remains speculative. Many doctors think it is because facial feedback is disrupted; your facial muscles are flattened by the botox, which means you can show less expression. And just like smiling all day actually contributes to a good mood and a happy feeling, the lack of a sad expression also helps with that. Not being able to look sad = not being able to be sad, that's basically what it comes down to.

But it is striking that when botox was injected in a different place than the face, it also had benefits when it comes to depressive thoughts. This would be because botox is transported through the blood and thus reaches the central nervous system. Here, all your emotions are regulated, and therefore it makes sense that the addition of botox has an effect there. People who injected botox in their bladder (yes, that can happen if you have an overactive bladder, learned something new) also saw an effect on their mood.

Well, I don't know how you all feel about it, but I found this incredibly interesting. Of course, it is everyone's personal choice to take botox or not — whether for cosmetic purposes or medical ones, but this side effect seems to me to be very positive.