Feeling embarrassed or ashamed

Some people talk of feeling embarrassed or even ashamed of their appearance. This could be for a variety of reasons, for example, some of your encounters with people in the past may have been negative, you may have been humiliated or you may be fearful of exposure.

Shame tends to arise in social contexts where you might assume others see you as inferior, inadequate or flawed. Sometimes these feelings of shame can be compounded as a result of past negative experiences with health professionals who may have repeatedly spoken about your disfigurement in terms of a defect, deformity, anomaly i.e. something that is ‘wrong’ with you.. You may feel angry, anxious, or even disgust when these feelings are encountered, and you may have a strong desire to flee from the situation, or to hide yourself in some way.

Shame undermines confidence and self-esteem. It can prevent some people from engaging in everyday activities that they would otherwise enjoy. Changing Faces can help you to learn a number of different coping strategies to manage these feelings and help you to take control of your life.