Coping

‘Coping’ is an active process,which relies on a range of techniques used at different
times. These vary fromseeking social support to venting emotions and confronting
risk. In a recent review by Moss and Savin (1995), the coping strategies of people
with some form of disfigurement were examined. The authors found that the
concept of coping was divided into the broad categories of emotion-focused coping
and problem-focused coping. The former dealswith theway people attend to threat.
That is, trying to change the way they think about a threat and their perceptionof it, so as to neutralise it or make it less threatening. An example of this is where
you might challenge your view of a social situation where you feel that the way
you look is being scrutinised. The latter involves doing something about it, such
as using practical tools for how to deal with staring and rude comments and how
to confront other difficult social situations. This may include making eye contact
with the other person, having a quick, rehearsed response to rude comments, or
changing the subject and diverting the other person’s attention. In cases where
you can exert control over the threat, problem-focused coping is effective; whereas
in cases where the threat is not directly controllable, emotion-focused coping is
more useful. Inmost cases, both strategies are used both during and after a stressful
event and the extent to which they prove to be useful will depend on the context in
which they are used.
There are threemain ways that one can cope with a stressful situation:
(1) Changing the situation out of which the stressful experience arises;
e.g. wearing clothes or make-up that hide the skin problem so as not to risk
exposure and possible stigma.
(2) Challenging and altering the meaning of the stressful experience when
it occurs;
e.g. if a person stares, one may acknowledge the fact that they might be
staring for more reasons than their interest in the skin problem, or that they
might be merely curious rather than repulsed.
(3) Controlling the effects of the stressful situation after it has occurred;
e.g. using coping skills for feelings of embarrassment or social phobia.

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