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Does plastic surgery improve psychosocial wellbeing?

BY READERS DIGEST

3rd Apr 2022 Life

Does plastic surgery improve psychosocial wellbeing?

As plastic surgery becomes more commonly spoken about and new procedures coming out all of the time, we are able to look more at the effects of plastic surgery.

While the obvious effect is a physical alteration, there are other factors that come into play, such as mental health and psychosocial wellbeing.

The topic was previously more taboo, so we asked Dr. Pirani at The Toronto Plastic Surgery Centre for information about psychosocial wellbeing and plastic surgery. There is a lot of information to take in, but here are the answers that we got.

What is psychosocial wellbeing?

Before we can really discuss how plastic surgery can improve psychosocial wellbeing, we need to explain what it means. Psychosocial refers to how your social situation affects your psychological health. Some examples of this could be how well you function in society, what your relationship status is, how your work environment is, and even how easily you make friends.

Having a positive psychosocial situation should be the goal. People who do have an overall better quality of life will have an improved mental health. This leads to the question of whether plastic surgery can improve psychosocial wellbeing.

Mental health

Mental health is a key component in the quality of anyone’s life. When you have a healthy mental health, your psychosocial wellbeing can also be positive and healthy. For some, mental health is directly tied to how you feel about yourself, including your self-image.

Plastic surgery can often boost a person’s self-image. Regardless of the reason for having a procedure done or even the type of procedure, a person’s self-image can be improved, increasing their overall mental health. With a positive mental health established, a person can focus more on their psychosocial wellbeing.

Ways psychosocial wellbeing can be improved

There are a few different ways that your psychosocial wellbeing can be improved through plastic surgery. They generally depend on the issue that is being altered by plastic surgery. For example, a teenager who is self-conscious about a larger-than-average nose who gets a rhinoplasty to reduce its size may be more willing and eager to engage in social activities without the nose to be in the way.

Additionally, on another facial note, if a person is having a scar or birthmark removed that has caused questions or comments in the past, their psychosocial wellbeing will also likely improve through the correction. With more confidence, a person will be more successful in their social situation, being less worried about how they are perceived.

Christian Busch, plastic surgeon working in Norway's third biggest plastic surgery clinic, recalls cases where young women who went through several pregnancies didn't feel good in a bikini anymore. Getting plastic surgery helped them feel good in their skin again.

Other ways that plastic surgery could be someone who is having excess fat removed that may have been slowing a person down. With an easier freedom of movement, their ability to branch out in the world can also be improved.

It really comes down to what type of procedure is being done and why. As long as person’s mental health is sound, meaning there are no other conditions present, such as body dysmorphic disorder, cosmetic procedures absolutely can improve a person’s psychosocial wellbeing.

Expectation vs Reality

While the vast majority of patients are happy with the results of their cosmetic procedures, therefore improving their psychosocial wellbeing, there are always the exceptions. In cosmetic procedures, the exceptions lean toward a disparity between expectation and reality.

Some patients will look at how another person looks and expect that a certain procedure will achieve the goal, but not take into account the other variables that might be affect the final appearance. It is really important to have a plastic surgeon who will be helpful and honest with you, letting you know what to expect before you decide to move forward with a procedure. If you have a good idea of what the reality will be for you, you will not be disappointed with the expected result.

Plastic surgery by itself cannot give you a relationship or new employment, but it can improve your confidence to be successful at those things.

Bottom line

Plastic surgery definitely has the ability to improve your psychosocial wellbeing, but there are many considerations to be made. Now-a-days non surgical procedures like CoolSculpting and cryolipolysis are getting popular. But they have side effects too . If you have another condition that will prevent you from being happy with your results, it will not improve your psychosocial wellbeing. Likewise, if you have unrealistic expectations about the kind of result that you will get, then you will also not have an improved situation. Much of psychosocial wellbeing has to do with your base personality, which will not be altered by plastic surgery.

The best thing that you can do is look at your desired result and have an open and honest conversation with a plastic surgeon. Together, you should be able to make a realistic plan that will give you the expected results, hopefully making you happy with your appearance in the process. With increased confidence, you will be unstoppable.

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