Facial Expressions and Mood Changes

Many of us respond to situations with almost unnoticeable changes in our face, the muscles pulling away from a smile and into some look of concern, anger, anxiety, you name it. We know that smiling can actually change your mood and lift that level of anxiety you've been feeling. This is probably due to the wonderful feedback system our muscles have and which quickly, like a good messenger, delivers the message to the mood centers in the brain. If the writer of that old line from a song, "let a smile be your umbrella" only knew how right he/she was.

Now, there are attempts to help us when we, again unknowingly give our brain that negative feedback which then results in a down-in-the-dumps mood or increased levels of anxiety. One really unique treatment is the use of Botox to keep those muscles from sending negative signals.

Does it actually work? Well, one physician with a really small sample (10 patients) claims it does, but he's not a mental health expert and there's no mention of how he measured the dramatic mood improvement. I'd think it might just be a case of looking better and less worried when you look in the mirror and your mood improves.

Can everyone benefit from this? I doubt it and at $400 a treatment, it seems rather expensive. I'd wait for a much larger study to be done and then review whether or not to consider it.

Related Topics: WebMD Videos: Treatment is Key for Anxiety, Actually, Laughter May Be the Best Medicine

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