The Botox Lesson

I once read an article that said that people who get Botox not only show less emotion, they feel less emotion too.

Their inability to move their faces to express their feelings led to their inability to even feel those emotions in the first place.  People who got Botox injections could not feel anger or even extreme happiness because their faces could not express those emotions.  Thus, Botox paralyzed not only their faces but their emotions as well.

So if that's the case, why not smile more?  And feel happy?  It's like they always say:  When you smile you feel happy.  And Botox proves them to be true.  The mere act of smiling brings up good emotions just as the mere act of frowning brings up bad ones.  Facial expressions, therefore, are not merely a side effect of feelings but a cause of feelings as well.

After reading this article, I attempted to keep my face immobile -- free of expression -- for a time, and what I found was that it is true what they say.  Without the expression, you don't feel the emotion.  But change your face to a certain expression and you'll feel the emotion rush over you.

So there it is, a lesson from Botox:  You have much more control over your feelings than you realized; that is, as long as you're not using Botox.