Washington – For most of us, the word “Botox” is synonymous with plastic surgery, swollen lips, and stretched faces, but researchers found less superficial but rather deep effects on the body that may make these injections a medicine.
And a recent study found that injecting some parts of the body with Botox, or what is scientifically known as botulinum toxin, may help relieve symptoms of mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.
Botox is made by extracting toxins from a type of bacteria responsible for food poisoning. After injecting an area of the body with it, these toxins stop the movement of the muscles in this area, so Botox is used in plastic surgery to prevent the formation of wrinkles. The site adds that Botox is used for other therapeutic purposes, including the treatment of neck spasms, excessive sweating, chronic headaches, and bladder disorders.
The study indicated that its use in the first place for cosmetic procedures, because it causes muscle relaxation, and facial muscle relaxation was and still is the subject of research in a number of studies, as scientists seek to know whether it can be used to alleviate the symptoms of mental health conditions.
Specifically, the idea is that you can target what evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin called “grief muscles.”
This hypothesis dates back to Darwin and William James (known as the “father” of American psychology) in the nineteenth century, pointing out that it states that human facial expressions not only convey his emotional state to others, but also express it to him himself.
The theory is that while some facial expressions such as frowning are caused by negative emotions, the facial expressions themselves actually reinforce those emotions in a vicious cycle.