If you aren’t happy with your appearance and suffer from confidence issues, then it’s very likely that you also experience social anxiety. Social anxiety is a type of anxiety that is caused by a fear of social situations. People that suffer from this type of anxiety often avoid socializing and interacting with other people, out of fear of judgment. In many cases, this leads to those who suffer from it locking themselves away and staying indoors. Cosmetic surgery is one way that you can improve your appearance, and consequently, reduce social anxiety.

This article will tell you why that is:

Can Cosmetic Surgery Reduce Anxiety?

If your anxiety’s root is unhappiness with your physical appearance, then yes, cosmetic surgery absolutely can reduce your anxiety and even depression. In the words of cosmetic professionals from Berkeley Square Medical London, cosmetic surgery can help to correct features that people aren’t happy with. Whether it’s a person’s nose or the size of their breasts, surgery can help. It’s important to remember, however, that if your appearance isn’t the root of your anxiety then no amount of surgery is going to help. Sometimes it might seem like your anxiety’s root is in your appearance, but it could be something much deeper. It’s worth investigating your anxiety and mental illness before committing to surgery.

Realistic Expectations

If you are going to go ahead with surgery, then you need to have realistic expectations. A mistake made by many people who sign up to have surgery performed in order to quell their anxiety is that they think they are going to look like a completely different person. While surgery can definitely improve your appearance, it isn’t going to make you look like somebody else. If you are only having surgery because you don’t want to look like you, then you’re going to be very disappointed. Surgery can make you look better, within reason. The surgeon that you deal with will also likely stress the importance of having realistic expectations for you. Unrealistic expectations can result in unhappiness and disappointment in your surgery.

Quality Surgeon

It’s crucial that you find a qualified and reliable surgeon to conduct your operation for you. The reason for this is that if you have surgery performed by somebody that doesn’t know what they are doing or can’t be trusted, then the chances of it going wrong are significantly boosted. Surgery that goes wrong can result in scarring and your appearance worsening. If your anxiety is caused by your appearance, then this is only going to amplify it and makes things worse. Botched surgeries are alarmingly common when it comes to working with underqualified surgeons. Make sure that you only ever work with well-reviewed, experienced, and qualified surgeons and clinics.

Additional Support

In addition to having surgery performed, you should also seek out therapy or support elsewhere. Anxiety can be treated by surgery, as we have already mentioned. However, it’s very common for other issues to manifest after your anxiety’s root is treated. If this does happen then it is indicative of an underlying mental health disorder. If this is the case, then the only person that can help you is a therapist or a doctor. Make sure that you go and see one treat your mental illness.

Identifying Causes

As mentioned earlier, it’s very important that you identify the root cause of your anxiety. You can do this by sitting down and carefully thinking about your life. Try to identify exactly what’s causing your mental health issues; is it really your appearance? It’s common for people to pick something they don’t like about themselves and then blame this feature for their unhappiness. It could be something else, however. Surgery can be expensive so it’s very important to sit down and think about what’s causing your anxiety before you go ahead and sign up for surgery.

Surgery Selection

Finally, you need to make sure that you select the surgeon that’s right for the job. As already mentioned, underqualified surgeons can’t be trusted. The best way of selecting a surgeon is to conduct online research and read independent reviews. Once you have found a surgeon that you think is right for the job, then you can go ahead and investigate them and check out their reviews. If they are a qualified and experienced surgeon then they shouldn’t have a problem presenting their qualifications to you. Many surgeons will actually publish their accreditations and qualifications on their site for all to see.

Finding the right surgeon is definitely very important if you want to have surgery. You also need to make sure that surgery is going to resolve your issues, which you can do by investigating your anxiety and trying to identify its root cause. Cosmetic surgery can help anxiety, as long as one’s anxiety is linked to their appearance.