Aesthetic Surgery and its Psychological Effects ...



Psychological Effects of Aesthetic Surgery: A Literature ReviewTania LiconUniversity of Texas of el PasoEnglish 1312AbstractPlastic surgery is a very popular nowadays, people seek help from this kind of procedures to fix any kind of physical feature they dislike. Although aesthetic surgery if a powerful tool to correct and modify features, they’ re certain aspect of the surgery that people must consider before undergoing such procedures, like the psychological effects the surgery might have. Psychological effects vary depending on the patient but people must be aware of the impact the surgery will have on them, and if they’re negative or positive.Aesthetic surgery or better known as plastic surgery has been in use for at least a century, it was initially used to correct birth defects, or to try to fix the appearance of those that had been in accidents, more specifically war injuries. Although plastic surgery started as a medium to better the physical appearance of people, its use took a different direction after World War II. It has evolved from being a tool to mend a problem to a more of a beauty tool, often used by millions of people today to alter their appearance and to look how they want to look. However the psychological effects of surgery are often ignored or not taken into consideration before undergoing such procedures. In order to better understand how aesthetic surgery affects people psychologically, the following question will be answered:What are the psychological impacts of plastic surgery on people that undergo any aesthetic procedure?Is plastic surgery a cause of psychological illnesses?What are the reasons that lead people into having plastic surgery done?What are some ways to prevent unnecessary plastic surgeries?The following literature review will be answering these questions and focusing on information on the psychological effects of aesthetic surgery on the patients.What are the psychological impacts of plastic surgery on people that undergo any aesthetic procedure? Until recent years the psychological effects of plastic surgery has started to be explored a little more with the purpose of understanding the post operatory impact to the patients’ emotions and reactions. First generation research ( 1950-1960) suggested that the psychological impact on patients varied, and that it some cases people felt better about themselves but in some cases it created a state of psychosis and discontent in the patients’, but this research wasn’t well structured and it wasn’t of much importance. Later on, a better structured research, second generation research ( 1970-1980) suggested that aesthetic surgery had more of a positive impact on patients’ and that it increased their level of content with their bodies and appearance, which lowered the psychopathology rates. Third generation research including the recent innovative research is now utilizes tools such as assessments and survey before and after the plastic surgery procedures are done to better understand the psychological impact surgery has on the patients. The psychological impacts of aesthetic surgery are usually measured by interviews and questioning of the patients, before and after the surgery(ies). Patients usually seek refuge under plastic surgery from the stress and pressure that today’s society places on the population. People always want to achieve perfection but most of them forget that perfection is practically impossible; patients usually suffer from low self-esteem and anxiety resulting from their physical appearance. In an attempt to make themselves happier with and about themselves they plastic surgery tends to be a solution for the patient. Another important point to remember is that usually if the patient is psychological instable there’s a higher risk of misperception that can lead to worse problems later, like dissatisfaction, depression, anger and suicide among things. Studies show that people with extreme physical dissatisfaction that seek for a solution in plastic surgery tent to have high and unrealistic expectations about the results of the surgery and the impact it might have on their lives, in many cases the fact that they expect unrealistic perfection from surgery put the patient in a deep depression wish only worsens the psychological state of the person. In a study conducted by Cambridge University determined symptoms of depression and anxiety had an odds ratio of 1.66, 2.8 for self-harm, 3.29 for parasuicide, and 2.6 for illicit drug use.On the contrary, there are also studies that show that people how undergo plastic surgery are happier and have a healthier state of mind after surgery. People who look to fix something in particular, not a complete transformation but a small alteration are the ones who enjoy the benefits of the surgery. People in mild depression or just discontent preoperative report an improvement after the surgery, their anxiety levels lower, their self-esteem increases and their happiness overall gives their psychological health a boost, which betters their life over all. Overall the psychological impact of plastic surgery tends to be satisfactory and positive on the patient. In conclusion the psychological impact aesthetic surgery has on the patient is directly related to the psychological estate of the patient before the surgery.Is plastic surgery a cause of psychological disorders?Although plastic surgery is meant to improve the patient’s physical appearance it also has an impact on its psychological state, sometimes illnesses might be presented as well, in an article by Dr.Moss he said, “The day-to-day experience of patients seeking aesthetic plastic surgery can be one of the great emotional distress and behavioural disruption. Reports of high levels of fear of negative evaluation, shame, anxiety accompanied by an avoidance of social situations and more intimate relationships” (Moss, 1997), said Dr. Timothy Moss said on his research article in collaboration with Dr. David L. Harris, where he followed patients closely after surgery to see their psychological changes. One of the most common disorders linked to plastic surgery is body dysmorphic disorder also known as body dysmorphia. Body dysmorphic disorder is a psychological illness in which the individual is extremely preoccupied, concerned and conscious about the appearance its body has, the individual usually tends to seek perfection in appearance. Their perceived image and the way their brain sees their body is completely inaccurate, they have a false image of themselves and they are always searching for a way to fix it. Although these disease is psychological there are factors that add up to cause it, these factors are; biological, psychological and environmental. Plastic surgery as a whole will not cause body dysmorphia but can be a factor that adds up, and that can make the problem worse, since alterations to the body won’t help the person, and depression, anxiety, social withdrawal and isolation might be present.Depression is a psychological illness that might come hand and hand with plastic surgery; people that undergo any cosmetic procedure are prone to suffer from depression afterwards. Unrealistic expectations of the surgery take the patient into a depression from which even suicide can be a result. People tend to believe that plastic surgery is the answer to perfection and that once they get it done all their problems will be fixed, they fail to understand that it’s for the betterment of appearance and symmetry and when the results don’t meet their expectations they fall into depression, from which is then hard to get them out and professional psychological help is needed, when asked Dr. Fred Salazar was asked if he thought depression could be caused by plastic surgery he answered the following “Depression varies from patient to patient, but I believe that aesthetic surgery can be a factor leading to depressive tendencies, if the results are not what the patient expected” (Salazar, 2013), which shows that depression can be caused by surgery. On the contrary on the Moss and Harris research states that they found that there was no relation between patients who had plastic surgery and depression, their results were the following: “For depression, a main e?ect of time (T1 vs. T2) was observed [F (1,77) ? 4.4, p ? 0.04], indicating a reduction in depression post-operatively from a mean of 7.6(SD ? 7.2) to 5.9 (SD ? 8.5) There were no signi?cant interactions, indicating that the changes were unrelated to experimental group or body site”(Harris & Moss, 2009), which gives the public proof that depression and plastic surgery might have no connection whatsoever.What are the reasons that lead people into having plastic surgery done?Patients who undergo plastic surgeries are usually driven by dissatisfaction and sadness. In most cases when the individual decides to undergo surgery it’s because they had already suffered from anxiety, low self-esteem and/or depression. Although there are treatments for those disorders after a certain period of time the person feels that the problem must be fixed externally as well. Social pressure is also one of the most, if not the most, common driver, the pressure of society to be and look perfect takes people to extremes where they feel that they should alter the way they look. According to J. Walker Smith, executive chairman of the Futures Company, an average person can be exposed to over 5,000 ads and spend 3 hours on social networks. In other cases patients have plastic surgery because they feel they can look better although they are comfortable with their actual image, and it might be triggered by happiness or excitement. In an interview conducted, in which Dr. Fred Salazar was the interviewee he showed special interest on what drives people into having aesthetic procedures done. When asked about what he thought served drivers, he said that he believes that social pressure is one of the most important reasons, he expressed that today everyone is so exposed to technology, that people start creating false ideas of how they must look to be accepted, or seen as attractive. He expressed his disapproval, on how the media targets people with marketing skills, and that the pressure put on people is so great that many look for alternatives as extreme as plastic surgery in which people alter their image in order to fit in during the interview he said, “The content in the media inspires an endless pursuit of perfection in its audience, they see people with perfect bodies and it alters their perspective on their own bodies.” (Salazar, 2013) Dr. Salazar stated during his interview, where he described what he believed to be the reasons why people take the path of plastic surgery.What are some ways to prevent unnecessary plastic surgeries?One way to prevent unnecessary aesthetic procedures based on Dr. Salazar’s point of view would be for the media to begin changing the unrealistic standard of what body type is acceptable or considered attractive. Getting rid of Photoshop in advertisements and using a wider variety of body types in them would reverse the ideas of the audience. Although the results and ideas vary by patient, starting with making changes in media content perhaps could lessen the audience’s desire to get plastic surgery. As Dr. Salazar said during the interview when asked for his input on the matter “ People need to learn how to make educated decisions, and they must understand the difference between real attainable results and marketing social images. They must also understand that aesthetic procedures are corrective but they’re not meant to completely recreate their appearance” telling us that people must be aware of the reality of body images and to not fall into the vicious cycle of complete transformations. An altered state of mind and a deviated sense of perception raise the desire surgical procedures. A deeper analysis of the psychological state of the patients and the doctor’s recommendation to not get a procedure could improve and lessen the amount of surgical procedures. Also, government restrictions could placed on the number of plastic surgeries a person is allowed to get. Getting excessive amount of cosmetic procedures could be considered the same as someone who is addicted to drugs or like an eating disorder. It all comes back to the idea of patients being psychologically tested before procedures do determine if they are mentally healthy to undergo the severe changes that these procedures bring. Conclusion Plastic surgery is a tool to help those who are dissatisfied with their physical appearance and which to change something, although people must understand the risks and the benefits it brings with it. The psychological state in which the person prior and after the surgery must be taken into account since changing the body appearance is not only a physical change but also mental. Psychological examination can help determine if an individual is fit or not for surgery and if he will benefit from it in the correct way, to avoid psychological problems later on.References:1. Nauert, R. (2013, March 12). Psychology of Plastic Surgery. In PsychCentral. Retrieved October 7, 2013, from . Crerand, C. E., Franklin, M. E., & Sarwer, D. B. (n.d.). Body Dysmorphic Disorder. In PsychCentral. Retrieved October 6, 2013, from . Margraf, J., Meyer, A. H., & Lavallee, K. L. (2013, June 21). Well-Being From the Knife? Psychological Effects of Aesthetic Surgery. In Clinical Psychological Science. Retrieved October 9, 2013, from . Moss, T. P., & Harris, D. L. (2009). Psychological change after aesthetic plastic surgery: A prospective controlled outcome study.Psychology, Health & Medicine. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from EBSCO Host.5. Salazar, F. (October 28, 2013). Personal interview.Index AWhat are the psychological impacts of plastic surgery on people that undergo any aesthetic procedure?Is plastic surgery a cause of psychological illnesses/disorders?What are the drivers that lead people into having plastic surgery? What are the patients’ psychological conditions after cosmetic surgery? Do you think people over estimate the results of the surgery? How does it affect the patient afterward? Do you think people should consider the psychological impact of the surgery before they proceed to have any aesthetic procedure done? How do you think that unnecessary surgeries can be prevented? ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download