Botox injections may cause depression (yet another reason not to mess with your face)

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Could the ever-popular, face-freezing, wax-forehead-making anti-aging agent Botox cause serious depression?

Scientists think so.

In a new study out of Holland, 30 people were shown a series of disturbing images. While some of the participants were allowed to move their faces freely and express horror, shock, etc; others replicated the Botox look and were instructed to keep a totally still and blank face while examining the photos. Afterwards, subjects who were unable to show their emotions perceived the world as a worse place, and held onto their negative feelings for longer.

From these results, the study's lead researcher Dr. Judith Grub deduced that, "Suppressing negative emotions is something we do every day to be polite. However, my research shows that paralyzing muscles that help you to express emotion leads to internalizing these feelings."
Which, in turn, can lead to depression.

It's an interesting proposition for sure, though I'd actually be more intrigued to learn about the the effects of Botox and the suppression of positive emotions. I've always found it strange that people who have Botox are forced to smile weird little half-smiles and can't scrunch up their foreheads, crinkle their eyes, and laugh with their whole face.

Source: Telegraph