Long time lurker, first time poster so excuse me if I do something wrong. I don't really know what to do and I just need to vent a bit.
To cut a long story short I was born with a massive and very visible birthmark on my face. It never bothered me as a child but as a teenager I was bullied mercifully about it and was assaulted by a group of teenagers during which there were comments made about it. I then developed PTSD from the attack. I now have severe anxiety along with the PTSD and I need to be heavily medicated to even be okay to leave the house. I don't have any friends because I can't go anywhere in fear people will be staring at it. If I leave the house I normally spend over an hour using makeup to make it less visible. I also have psychiatrist appointments often for my mental health.
Recently a family member made a comment about all the money I'm spending from the NHS budget on psychiatrist appointments, medication and all that stuff, and why can't I just get the surgery to remove it. The thing is there is actually a surgery I could have that would dramatically improve it so that I think I would have a much better quality of life without so many MH issues. Plus I wouldn't cost the NHS so much. The thing is it's only available privately because it's considered cosmetic and I'm realistically not in a position to afford it any time soon. My sister has made me feel so bad about wasting the money.