Coping with Disfigurment

Keliod scarring is variable and can range from being barely noticeable to being an exceptionally disfiguring condition. Often patients with disfiguring Keloid Scars experience some psychological effects and studies have shown that they may experience a lower quality of life because of this. Although often the amount of self-consciousness people experience is not directly linked to the size of their scar, there are a variety of largely negative experiences people with disfigurement experience; these are sometimes also experienced by people whom have large and visible keloids. Some patients may be wary of exposing their scars such as at the beach or in a swimming pool out of fear of being stigmatised. Studies have also demonstrated that the psychological effects of keloid scarring can have an effect on patients work.

Negative reactions (some of which described in the box below) from people have been found to be largely due to society’s perceptions of disfigurement and a sense of uncertainty about how to act around someone whom looks different. Some common perceptions that society has toward disfiguring conditions may be that they are contagious or that disfigured people are of a lower social standing. These issues are often due to a lack of knowledge regarding the condition combined with negative images demonstrated in the media. A set of social experiments conducted in the 1970’s demonstrated that when confronted by disfigurement, people in general experienced a conflict between wanting to stare and wanting to adhere to normal social protocol against staring, this resulted in uncertainty and avoidance. This is something people suffering from visible Keloids may find disturbing but it has been demonstrated that if disfigured people were able to be proactive in social situations they may be able overcome this uncertainty and some of these negative experiences.

Negative Experiences with Disfigurement:

• Naked stares
• Unsolicited Personal Questions
• Manifestations of pity
• Aversion
• Outright Avoidance
• Teasing and Bulling
• Unsolicited Advice
• Difficulties relating to meeting new people,
• Standing farther away from disfigured individuals while waiting to cross a street.