Plastic Surgery and Botox - The Newest Type of Addiction?

After previous studies claimed that gambling, tanning beds or mobile phones should be classified as the newest forms of addiction, recent studies carried out by a plastic surgeon and a psychologist show that botox interventions grow more addictive by the day. This is a natural phenomenon, after all, in the shallow society centered on image and looks that we live in.

The research was conducted by Dr Carter Singh, a psychologist, and Martin Kelly, a plastic surgeon with London Plastic Surgery Associates. "Botox injection is the fastest-growing cosmetic procedure yet the addictive appeal surrounding Botox has been largely ignored," stated co-author of the study, Martin Kelly.

The two experts found that people become more addicted to plastic surgery and botox because they suffer from the "imagined ugly syndrome." As many plastic surgeries some people would go through, they will never be satisfied with their looks. However, they will always resort to various methods to change their appearance hoping that, at some point, they will be impressed with what they see in the mirror in the morning. The ironic thing is that, in the case of people hooked on botox and plastic surgery, this never happens.

"There are people who develop a dependency on the support they appear to get from cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery is potentially habit-forming. These people feel a sense of psychological wellbeing after one procedure and this fuels the notion that they would feel even better if they had another," explained Adam Searle, President of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons.

The results of the study led by Dr Carter Singh and Martin Kelly showed that about 40% of people who have resorted to botox injections to reduce wrinkles are very prone to request another such treatment in the near future. This is how the whole botox-addiction phenomenon occurs: people feel beautiful for a short interval time posterior to the surgical intervention, but after a while, they get used to their new appearance and want to look nicer. This 'looking good - want to look better' cycle becomes recurrent in some people and leads to dependency.

"People can become addicted to the anticipation, the excitement and the attention they receive. There is a short-lived result of feeling fabulous. But the post-procedure high fades, life goes back to normal and all the mundane problems come back so you need to go for another fix," explained Dr Eileen Bradbury, Consultant Psychologist at the Alexandra Hospital in Cheadle. Dr. Bradbury reported having treated many plastic surgery addicts up to the present date.