For many people, how they look is a huge part of how they feel about themselves. Feeling beautiful is an integral part of their self-esteem, and they're willing to go to almost any length to acquire a high level of physical beauty. For others, physical attractiveness is relatively unimportant, and the thought of cosmetic surgery is unattractive or even repulsive. These two groups are often at odds, with one group judging the other as shallow or silly.
But does the desire for cosmetic surgery truly come from vanity, or from necessity?
Cosmetic Surgery from Necessity
For many people, their physical appearance can be painful for them. In today's society, where a huge importance is placed on physical beauty, a too-large nose or ears that stick out can make a person feel self-conscious or rejected. When a physical flaw or deformity lowers your quality of life, you may see cosmetic surgery as a necessity.
How do you know if your desire for cosmetic surgery stems from reasons of necessity? The first thing to do is look at how that physical flaw affects your life. Do people treat you differently because of some flaw or deformity? Do you look in the mirror every day and hate what you see? Then cosmetic surgery may be a step that will improve your quality of life.
Before undergoing any cosmetic procedure, it's also important to take a look at your emotional health. If your self esteem is wrapped around your looks or is ruined by just one physical flaw, you may want to talk to a therapist to see about improving your self image from within.
Cosmetic Surgery from Vanity
It is true that many people undergo cosmetic surgery for reasons that seem quite vain. These are generally attractive people who want small procedures to improve their already good looks. A nose job to improve a nose that's cute, but just a little boring. Lip injections to give them full lips that don't even suit their face. The list goes on and on.
But the real question is: who has the right to judge? If a person is in a position to pay for what they want to change, why should they be criticized? Sure, for people living different, simpler lives, this sort of behavior seems irresponsible But in certain sects of society, getting cosmetic surgery is as normal as going to the hair stylist.
Yes, it's true that there are more worthwhile things to spend your time and money on than looks-- especially when you're already good looking. But if something makes a person happy without harming anybody else, there's no real problem. Even excessive cosmetic surgery is a simply a way to please and indulge oneself, no different than buying a fancy car or decorating the living room.
In the end, it's important to be happy with who you are. If a person undergoes a large number of cosmetic procedures because of low self-esteem, it means they have bigger problems than their looks. Cosmetic surgery can be a good tool to boost self-esteem and elevate self-image, but shouldn't be abused or used as a substitute for personal growth.
According to recent findings, the number of plastic surgery procedures performed in the United States increases by 44% per year. Although there are no relevant statistics available for other countries as of yet, it is safe to assume that numbers are skyrocketing worldwide. Medical loans and cosmetic surgery finance companies are making elective surgery procedures available to an ever increasing portion of the population and bias against recipients of these kind of procedures have all but disappeared.
The question is: Is plastic surgery a good choice for everyone? It would seem not. BDD or Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a condition first introduced in 1987, is characterized by a fixation with an aspect of one's physical appearance. Sufferers repeatedly change or examine the offending body part - to the point that the obsession interferes with their daily functioning. Studies have shown that a whopping 7 to 12 percent of plastic surgery patients harbour some form of BDD. Plus, the majority of BDD patients who have cosmetic surgery do not report any improvement in their compulsive symptoms, often requesting various procedures to be performed on the same or different body features. Access to cosmetic surgery finance has the potential to leave these patients in an incredible amount of debt.
So, how do plastic surgery procedures affect patients psychologically? The simple truth is that there are more questions than answers regarding the psychological effects of cosmetic surgery. Few long term studies have been conducted and those that have show contradictory findings. Researchers also criticise the small sample sizes and follow-ups with patients that formed part of these studies. What is needed at this stage is thorough, large-scale prospective studies of representative samples of patients, employing accepted research instruments. The larger percentage of patients do well in terms of mental adjustment after plastic surgery procedures, but some do not and the field needs to be aware of this to arrange screening for such would-be patients.
Recently it has become common-place for psychologists to work in conjunction with plastic surgeons in order to identify such psychological issues as Body Dysmorphic Disorder. This involves looking at the nature of the person's appearance concern, like whether or not the perceived flaw is as prevalent to others as is to the individual requesting the surgery. This includes establishing the patient's internal motivation for surgery ? are they doing it for themselves or to please a partner? Surgeons also have to ensure that patients have realistic expectations concerning the outcome of the surgery rather than expecting the procedure to resolve long-established personal issues.
In many ways the mental health sector is only now starting to catch up with the runaway phenomenon that is plastic surgery. Relationships between physical appearance, body image and psychosocial functioning need to be researched, as do those between surgery and psychiatric disorders such as eating disorders, social phobia and sexual functioning. Apart from conducting research, psychologists must also be ready to slot into clinical roles in aiding cosmetic surgery patients ? such as conducting pre-emptive assessments that will deem individuals mentally fit for surgery. This may be achieved by means of empirically based screening questionnaires that will identify patients who may not adjust well after surgery.
It seems although plastic surgery is a common occurrence these days, we are far from fully understanding its psychological implications. If you are considering surgery and not sure if you are a viable candidate, consult your physician. Rather be safe than sorry -as is the case with fire, plastic surgery is a good servant but a bad master.
Both Amy Nutt & Robert D. Thomson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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