Why botox is a barrier to effective communication

Here’s an interesting tidbit from the author of The Emotional Life of Your Brain.  By paralyzing facial muscles, Botox deprives the brain of certain signals that it uses to determine one’s own emotional state. Botox injections actually impair your capacity to decode your own emotions! Plus it impairs your ability to decode other’s emotions through subtly simulating and mirroring their emotional state with mini-facial expressions of your own. If you can’t make facial expressions because your face is paralyzed, then your ability to understand emotional states is impaired.

Fascinating, huh!  Ever met anyone with a frozen smile on their face? I have. Botox isnt the only facial expression inhibitor. If you hide your pain, confusion, anger, etc. behind a smile, you’re probably fooling yourself even more than anyone else! I know when I talk with someone whose facial expressions are unnatural, I pretty much know I can’t trust what I see – but don’t always know what I can trust. Makes me a little crazy! 

Here’s a guy who hasn’t had Botox… Well – at least he’s easy to read…

hard_hat_emotions_smaller

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *