Unhelpful or “Negative” coping strategies such as avoiding going out and seeing friends, using drugs and/or alcohol are NOT good ways of coping.

You don’t always have to be brave and confront things, sometimes avoiding stuff can be helpful. But if avoidance is your only way of dealing with problems you’re going to miss out on a lot of great things and get really miserable, so it might be time to consider some other ways to help yourself.

Here are some strategies that we know of that people use to help them to cope well with an unusual appearance.

• They feel good about themselves and are positive about the future
• They develop good social skills (for example, they know how to act confidently and positively when they meet people)
• They have friends or family who help them
• They understand why other people stare or ask questions and don’t take it personally.
• They have other activities outside of work where they meet people who have the same interests. For example sports, drama or music