Facial nerve: is it possible to change the character after plastic surgery
The ancient sages said that a person's face reflects his inner world. But so far, little has been said about what happens in the human soul when the appearance changes under the influence of plastic surgeons. Izvestia found out whether a person could become different if he got a new nose or removed deep wrinkles, whether he would have to get used to himself and whether his character and behavior could change after surgery.
How to determine a person's character by their appearance
The doctrine of personality analysis based on a person's face is called physiognomy, recalls clinical psychologist, body therapist, psychosomatologist Sergey Volkov.
— And this is definitely pseudoscience. It originates in ancient times, and reached its peak at the beginning of the last century as part of another pseudoscience, eugenics," the expert believes.
From Sergey Volkov's point of view, some character traits can be determined not by facial features, but by muscle tension.
— For example, the wide muscles of the jaw, forming a powerful "strong-willed" chin, appear due to the systemic control of anger or when a person has been enduring some unpleasant circumstances for years, — says the clinical psychologist. — Here we are not talking about physiological features, but about the constant overexertion of muscles.
According to Sergey Volkov, such overexertion is the body's defense system. It allows the brain to transfer nervous excitement beyond its capabilities into muscle tension in emergency situations. And it will occur in similar situations. For example, the eyebrow-raising muscle may be overextended. For this reason, a person in critical situations will "turn to stone". The body therapist notes that such reactions occur throughout the entire stage of human development, actually forming the image of his body.
— For example, too much nervous tension or fright in a 3-5-year-old child may cause the muscle controlling eye movement to spasm. Then such a child will have difficulties with writing and reading, and by the age of 20 he will have a hard time assimilating information from written sources," the clinical psychologist continues.
Thus, in a sense, a person's lifestyle is imprinted on his face, and it is possible to draw a certain conclusion about the system of his reactions and psychological characteristics, Sergei Volkov believes. But to learn such an analysis, you need a lot of introspection and serious preparation.
— Our psyche lives in the body, and the body is the psyche brought out, — the expert summarizes.
According to him, people who have experienced shock trauma always have certain attributes of appearance. For example, their eyes are bulging out, as if the person is scared. You can notice twitching of the facial muscles or, conversely, a "clouding" of the face, as if it shows pent—up grief and anger, - the expert comments.
What does a person's facial expression mean?
People who are dissatisfied with some changes in their appearance often dream of "wiping" an undesirable expression from their face with the help of aesthetic medicine specialists. Oleg Snigir, a plastic surgeon at the Be Healthy clinic network, explains that the face is a complex dynamic structure, and its expression is formed by the work of muscles.
— If certain muscle groups work more often, then some kind of muscle memory is formed. For example, if a person's facial muscles constantly have to express some kind of worried, sad, frowning and thoughtful look, then they get used to the manifestation of these emotions and actually freeze in certain positions, the expert explains.
In this way, a person develops specific wrinkles and a certain facial expression. According to Oleg Snigir, when a person often frowns, the so—called gordets muscle or procerus works - a small facial muscle located in the bridge of the nose, between the eyebrows. The defect that middle-aged women dislike most is formed, which they call an interbrow.
— The tension of the proud muscle always forms a large, complex ridge, and maybe several vertical creases between the eyebrows, — says Snigir. — Therefore, aesthetic specialists in surgery can often even surprise such a patient, immediately determining that he often frowns or is thoughtful.
The plastic surgeon draws attention to the early appearance of nasolabial folds and flaps, which are characteristic of changes in the lower third of the face in older patients.
— This may be due to the increased work of the platysma, the subcutaneous muscle of the neck. And by weaving into the lower third of the face, it can deform it in advance," Oleg Snigir comments.
Surgeons recommend botulinum toxin correction for such patients in order to relieve this tension from the subcutaneous muscles of the neck and preserve the youth and elasticity of the facial skin. But, in order not to bring matters to such an intervention, you need to know how to avoid this condition.
— People often strain their necks, for example, when they wear uncomfortable clothes with a stiff collar. A specialist in such features of appearance can even determine a person's occupation," the plastic surgeon continues.
Can plastic surgery change the character for the better
But is it possible, by removing the same eyebrow gap, to change the character and become more friendly or carefree? From Oleg Snigir's point of view, character, behavior and demeanor really change after the work of a competent specialist in aesthetic medicine.
— The reason is that any aesthetic intervention is an attempt to harmonize a person's inner feelings and his desire for beauty with what he sees in the mirror, — says Snigir. — If this point of harmony is reached, then a person's worldview and sense of self are completely transformed. And then it spreads to all areas of life.
According to a practicing surgeon, some people literally restart their careers or find a new job after the transformation, while others meet the love of their lives.
— External changes really become the start for a new life, fulfillment of dreams, new vivid impressions. People's fate is literally turned upside down in a good way," Oleg Snigir comments.
Even negative moments (forced correction of appearance) can be a starting point for a better quality of life. Sometimes people go through a reassessment of values, rethink their lives and attitudes, the expert notes.
— If a woman changes the shape or size of her breasts, improves her figure, then this is followed by inner balance and harmony, which in itself is the inner strength of people. A person begins to love himself and to meet this love and this power in the world around him," says Oleg Snigir.
However, the plastic surgeon emphasizes that you should not perform an operation to change your appearance if you are not sure what you want to achieve in the end. When a man's or a woman's expectations of surgery are too vague and there is no clear understanding of what needs to be done and adjusted, in short, the person does not have the image of the future appearance that he dreams of, the operation will not help.
— In such cases, of course, you do not need to do any plastic surgery, but you should figure out what exactly a person is not satisfied with his appearance and where to start, — advises Oleg Snigir.
Plastic surgery is not a miracle cure, it will not change the world around it, although it can change a person's self—perception, the expert emphasizes.
What is the name of addiction to plastic surgery
According to the clinical psychologist, if a person has dreamed of changing something in himself all his life and this desire was true, then after the operation he really feels happiness and delight. In this case, the issue of the following changes is no longer raised.
—But it often happens that people try to compensate for something else with changes, such as confidence or self-esteem," the body therapist comments. — So it seems to a person that if he changes his nose, then others will love him more. And we, by and large, don't love people for their noses. Such changes often do not give the desired result, and a person may try to change himself indefinitely.
Sergey Volkov recommends that those who want to change something about themselves start with clothes or jewelry that can be removed at any time. But to build up the same jaw bones again will not work.
—The ICD-10 has a diagnosis of dysmorphophobic disorder, which is when a person thinks about his body all the time and worries about its imperfections," continues Sergey Volkov. — Thoughts of one's own "abomination" or "ugliness" are so intrusive that it seems to a person that the whole subway car is doing nothing but being horrified by his appearance. And if people don't look at him, it's just out of dislike, such a person thinks.
A clinical psychologist warns that this is a terrible condition that requires psychiatric supervision, because such people will not stop changing themselves and will easily bring their condition to ugliness or disability.
An anecdote relevant to the topic of our discussion is not losing popularity on the Web: "I dyed my hair blonde, but where should I put my brain?". A clinical psychologist is skeptical about the assumption that the same blonde or other manipulation of appearance can change a person's mindset.
— It's definitely impossible to change your mind with hair color. But it's quite possible to create a frivolous image," says Sergey Volkov. — But this is due to the fact that people tend to endow others with their expectations and beliefs. For example, it is believed that a blonde is more stupid than a brown-haired woman, although this is not true. Everyone is different. But when we see a specific person in front of us, we involuntarily convince ourselves that he is just like we thought up.
A clinical psychologist does not recommend relying solely on external factors. In some cases, a person, hoping for magical transformations, remains in an infantile position and does not want to work on himself.
— It's better to take life into your own hands and learn how to do good makeup, facial massage and body exercises. This is safer and, in my opinion, more useful and effective than an operation that you doubt," the expert comments.
How to love yourself
The tale of the tiger with the heart of a mouse, which, having turned into a big and terrible predator, actually remained a cowardly little animal, is still relevant. And a lot depends on the person himself.
—Even 90 kg of weight can look very different," says the clinical psychologist. — And it no longer depends on external attributes, but on the inner feeling.
From Sergey Volkov's point of view, if changes in appearance are not associated with shame, feelings of inferiority and disgust, then it is not difficult to get used to them. Especially if the changes are related to the correction of injuries, scars and the consequences of disasters. This position is more typical for men than for women.
— But it happens that even when the changes go towards beauty, the feeling of inferiority or unworthiness of the body does not disappear anywhere, — says the psychologist. — As a result, even an ideal face conveys the previous internal state, and this greatly affects the assessment of a person by other people. They feel that their interlocutor is dissatisfied with himself, and join these emotions, considering him less attractive.
In such cases, a clinical psychologist advises people to learn how to look for attractive body parts. This will help you love yourself and change your behavior in some way.
- For example, today you say: "I have beautiful eyebrows. Yes, they were made in a beauty salon, but these are great eyebrows and they suit me." Over time, it turns out that the eyes are "nothing like that" and the cheekbones and lips are beautiful. Watching is important when we learn to see the beautiful in ourselves, not the flaws. We need to focus on what's good in the body, not what's bad," comments Sergey Volkov.
The body therapist considers this approach to his appearance to be one of the most difficult tasks for the brain, which was formed in the world of criteria and other people's assessments.
According to the plastic surgeon, cases when a person has to painfully and for a long time get used to a new appearance are still rare. This is mainly typical for those who, for various reasons, were not entirely sure that a correction was necessary.
— People who know what they want and turn to trusted and experienced specialists usually do not have such questions, — Oleg Snigir comments. — If a similar situation has appeared, this is a reason to turn to a psychologist and try, let's say, to work in a slightly different direction — as part of correcting the psychological aspects of a particular situation. Because most of the time the problem lies precisely in some behavioral aspects.
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