"If it bothers you, let it do it"
Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.
More posts by Christiane Fux All content is checked by medical journalists.Does plastic surgery make you happy? The psychotherapist Prof. Jürgen Margraf has accompanied more than 550 people who have gone under the knife for their beauty - with surprising results
Prof. Jürgen Margraf
Prof. Jürgen Margraf is Professor of Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy at the Ruhr University in Bochum.
Prof. Margraf, what is your position as a psychotherapist on the subject of cosmetic surgery?
In all honesty, before the study, I had a pretty negative view of the matter. But that was because the people who came to me as therapists had psychological difficulties. And when a woman asks me, 'Tell me, shouldn't I have my breasts enlarged so that I feel more confident?' Then I've seen it quite critically.
And now?
Now I see it a little differently. We found that people were actually happy with the results after the procedure and felt better than before. Even twelve months after the plastic surgery.
Usually the joy wears off relatively quickly.
It is true that a positive effect lasts so long is rather untypical. As a rule, the habituation effect is very great. Studies show that the satisfaction curve drops again after a wedding or a lottery win until it has reached the starting value. In our study, however, the curve remained stable for twelve months.
Do you have an example?
Yes, a hairdresser who had his drooping eyelids corrected. Even after twelve months he said: 'If I consciously pay attention to my eyes, then I think:' Wow, I should have had that done earlier. 'He showed me photos of himself and I replied:' Honestly, me would not have noticed the difference ". Then he said: 'It can be, but I'll do it for myself'.
What exactly does someone who goes under the knife hope for?
The most important goal for almost everyone was 'I want to feel more comfortable in my skin', followed by 'I want to fix a blemish' and 'I want to have more self-confidence.' Hardly anyone expected that they would be completely new after the operation or all of his problems have been resolved. Much less often than I thought, goals such as 'I do this for my partner' or 'to find a partner' were also mentioned.
What kind of people are they who have their noses or breasts operated?
You are surprisingly normal. Nor were they any more anxious or depressed than the rest of the population. And they didn't consider themselves particularly unattractive before. Throughout Germany, people give themselves a score of 69 points on an attractiveness scale from 0 to 100. It was 66 points among the participants in the study. However, they only gave the part of the body that they wanted to operate on an average of 37 points. After the operation, they rated him at 75 points.
And how beautiful did the operated people find themselves after the operation?
Overall, they felt a little more attractive than before - slightly above average. So they didn't think they were so beautiful now, but just like other people. The intervention had a relatively minor effect on satisfaction and zest for life. I didn't expect that either. If I have a crooked nose that I have to operate, I may feel a little better afterwards, but not suddenly completely happy in all areas.
Is it still worth it from your point of view?
Surely this advice would be wrong: 'If you are dissatisfied, "go under the knife." For a nose or drooping eyelid correction, however, I would now recommend: 'If it really bothers you, let it be done.' However, this only applies to people who - as in our study - have had an operation for the first time. They have exactly one Flaws that bother them - and they have them fixed. That is certainly a different clientele than people who have repeatedly operated on. I doubt that they are permanently satisfied.
Prof. Margraf, thank you for talking to us.
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