Throughout history, people have constantly found new ways to enhance their beauty. This desire for attractiveness and perfection is a common characteristic spanning across different societies, cultures and generations, but one which can be linked to potential struggles with mental health.1
Our role within aesthetics is to make physical improvement to an individual’s appearance, but how much of their psychological wellbeing do we take into consideration? Further research is needed in the arena of psychology in aesthetics, but a 2021 study reviewed 120 articles relating to mental illness and cosmetic surgery and found that across a range of practices, the prevalence of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) was 4-57%, depression 4.8-25.8%, anxiety 10.8-22% and personality disorder 0-53%.2
In 2019, it was also found that of 1,000 patients seeking cosmetic surgery, 44% suffered with a mental illness, in particular depression and generalised anxiety.3 Mentally vulnerable patients often…
