Ask a burns survivor, Welsh Woman of the Year and our first #PledgeToBeSeen Ambassador Catrin Pugh anything. Join the conversation by replying to this post.
Our Ask Me Anything (AMA) with Catrin Pugh is starting at 6pm today.
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Catrin Pugh here! I’m so happy to be on the Changing Faces forum today answering your questions. As an ambassador for the charity and burns survivor, I’m here to answer anything you want answered. So fire away and I will do my best to answer and help!
Hi Catrin, Thank you so much for doing this. The community have been posting questions for you over the last few weeks. Here's one...
Who or what inspires you? And that question is from PB58
I find a lot of inspiration in the stories of other people and how they live with an altered appearance. Social mdia, although sometimes a scary place also has hundreds of bloggers and people to follow and gain strength from. Personally, burn survivors like Katie Piper, Turia Pitt & Tulsi Vagjiani inspire me!
Here’s one from Skye768...
I think talking to someone about my scars will help me. Who did you find helped you? And can you recommend anyone I can talk to?
Getting in touch with charities can be a great way to connect and meet others who are going through something similar to you. Peer support was probably the most important part of my recvery and using charity services is a safe way to find your community. Councelling was really great for me too, but only when I was ready to access it, another thing that charities are great to put you in touch with
Skye768 also asked...
I have a facial scar. I struggle with comparing to how my face looked before the scar. As well as comparing my face to other people's without scars, it really makes me depressed.
How do you deal with learning to not do that, and also comparing to how you used to be? (My scar is on the front of my nose btw :/)
I understand this feeling as I was 19 when I got my scars, so knew exactly what life was like without them. I try to remember this; That your scars are a sign of a battle you fought and won, no matter how you got it. It's a sign of strength. So try and hold onto that and each day you might find a little more beauty in it.
Hi Catrin. It's Sam here - one of the forum administrators at CF I was wondering, could you recommend any good blogs or books or websites for people who are burns survivors or people with visible difference?
I mentioned Turia Pitt earlier (who is an Australian Burn Survivor) and her website is great! She has written books and is just an all round awesome person! I also like books like Fearne Cotton's 'Happy" - the tagline is "Finding joy in everyday and letting go of perfect". I just think that anything that can help boost positivity and joy in the evryday can make a difference to your life.
Hello. If you’re on the forum, and reading this AMA from Catrin Pugh. please feel free to submit a question, Catrin will be more than happy to answer it for you. 👍
You're the first person to sign up to #PledgeToBeSeen - our call for more brands to represent people with a visible difference. That's an amazing journey for you since your accident. How do you feel about that?
It is SO exciting! When I was in the first couple of years after my new life with scars, I really struggled to see what my future would look like. By getting in touch with charities, my confidence slowly grew and it made me realise that I wanted to help change the way people see and react to someone looking 'different'. And getting to work alongside brands that want that change too is encouraging and hopeful for a changing future for people with visible differences!
Hi Catrin, it's Dola from Changing Faces here. Here's a common question lots of our clients ask: Do you ever get people staring at you? If you do, how do you respond?
YES! I am now confident enough to walk around with my scars on show with pride (sidenote: this confidence took a while). This means staring is a common occurance for me. I try and think of positives that can come from staring... like perhaps these people staring are educating themselves. Also 99% of the time staring is not meant to be malicious, so I try to remember that too, and it helps.
You've obviously had lots of operations since the accident. How did you occupy your time during recuperation?
So a a lot of my operations involved my hands being 'out of action' I listened to alot of things. Audiobooks are a fantastic way to pass the time and a great wear to hear a story being told. I also LOVE a whole array of podcasts and music. It's a great oppurtunity to find something new to spark your interest!
So although I have not met anyone special recently, I've definitely tried and it's been a positive experience! I personally don't enjoy dating appas as everything is so focused on your picture/ appearance. I ask friends to set me up with mutual friends or use the work place/ university as a safe place for me to feel comfortable around someone so the awkwardness is taken out of it!
What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
My favourite piece of advice to live by is 'A positive attitude leads to positive outcomes'. If you can begin anything with a positive mindset, you are already one step ahead!
Catrin... I think our time is up. Thank you SO much for taking a break to do this AMA for us. We'll circulate the Q&A on our social media channels for those that couldn't make it. And thank you to everyone who submitted a question.👍
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i have a weird skin condition and scars that makes me so depressed and suicidal
Nose job ruined my life
Alopecia sucks :D
Rosacea 
