Can Plastic Surgery Increase Happiness?
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There are contradicting studies about cosmetic plastic surgery’s impact on one’s happiness, and its supposed ability to decrease psychiatric symptoms. But according to Jonathan Haidt’s The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom, attractive individuals are not happier than their plain-looking counterparts, although improvements, which may come in the form of aesthetic surgery, can lead to high levels of satisfaction.
On average, the book suggested that cosmetic plastic surgery patients will generally experience decrease in psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety years after the procedure. But despite such claim, many plastic surgeons tend to turn down people who manifest psychological and emotional problems.
Dr. Tarick Smaili, one of the leading Los Angeles plastic surgeons, believes that while cosmetic surgery can have a positive impact on one’s life, this is not a quick fix to life’s problems.
“If you’re having a relationship problem, cosmetic surgery will not fix it. If you’re medically depressed or if you are suffering from emotional crisis, this is not the right solution since the root cause of the problem is not often about the physical appearance,” Smaili said.
While some studies claim that cosmetic surgery can make patients happier and more satisfied with their lives, there are also some reports showing otherwise. For instance, some surveys suggest that women who get breast implants have a higher suicide rates than people in the general population, although some experts think that individuals who are already thinking of committing suicide are more likely to want bigger bust.
However, a 2004 study published by Time Health and Science has shown that breast surgery, especially breast reduction, often has a positive impact on women’s psychological health. In fact, it goes even further by saying that only 3 to 14 percent of patients who had reduction mammaplasty were unsatisfied afterwards.
Meanwhile, the report has shown that older facelift patients—those in their late 40s and older—tend to be more satisfied with their surgery than people under the age of 40 who had the same procedure.
By contrast, young male patients in general experience less satisfaction following a cosmetic surgery than women.
Studies have always shown that women are more likely to seek cosmetic surgery than men, although it does not mean that male patients are left behind. In fact, rhinoplasty or nose job, which has the most significant impact on one’s appearance, has been the most popular procedures on men over the past several years.
Cosmetic Surgery Blogger @ February 12, 2012