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much…sometimes I just want to because it’s so much effort putting on my make
up…” (AA)
“I would end up feeling really self-conscious and, and nervous and scared and
vulnerable and, it's all because I haven't got make-up on”. (AA)
3b. Confronting and explaining
Some of the participants had developed positive methods of dealing with intrusive reactions, but
such coping mechanisms were not widely evident in the group:
“I would get the occasional like name calls… they're just saying it because
they're scared of stuff that they don't know, because if you just explain it to them
they've got nothing to say…” (AA)
“Control new interaction by informing them beforehand.” (DD)
3c. Overcompensation
For some participants there was a sense of overcompensating or using placation as a means
of mitigating against anticipated rejection:
“…it's really important to me what people think about me and because of that
wanting to prove myself all the time I do go out of my way for other people, even
at work if somebody says can you do this for me I won’t ever say no. It's like
you’ve always got this want in you for people to like you because people have
hated you most or your life or looked down their nose at you…” (GG)
3d. Finding their own way
Some participants spoke of rejecting cultural practices and finding their own way. This was
particularly evident in relation to arranged marriage:
“…in my mind that made me think well what am I going to do and then I decided I
wasn’t going to do it and I was going to go to university instead…because me
and my husband had a love marriage…” (GG)
3e. Denial, wishful thinking and minimizing
Some of the more distressed participants described using a range of emotional coping
strategies likely to exacerbate their adjustment in the long run:
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