Fear of Blushing and How To Overcome It

Do you struggle with a fear of blushing?

Having a fear of blushing can turn every social occasion into a source of anxiety and stress. You worry beforehand about whether you are going to go red. When around others you feel anxious in case you blush. At the first sign of your face warming, the panic sets in. You feel your face burning up and you feel embarrassed. You’re sure the other person must have noticed and, if they do mention it, you feel mortified.

It could happen at any time, perhaps even around friends and family. Your face starts to flush when you’re talking to someone and their eyes are upon you. Your fear of blushing may become a reality when giving a presentation, speaking in a group, when in a queue or just out and about during everyday interactions. You feel that warm rush in your cheeks and you know your worst fear is happening again. The more you notice it, and worry about others noticing it, the worse it can seem to get.

For many people, the fear of blushing can lead to a cycle of worry, embarrassment and avoidance. You find yourself dreading situations where you think you could blush. You worry about what other people will think. You may try and avoid situations where it could happen. And, should it happen, then you can dwell and give yourself a hard time afterwards.

Your fear of blushing can become linked to social anxiety, fear of judgement and worry about what other people think. It all becomes an ongoing cycle of fear about blushing, anxiety about social situations, and feeling bad in yourself.

Yet just like other anxiety related issues, you can break that cycle and overcome your fear of blushing. You can start to feel more calm, confident and comfortable in yourself again.

 

Fear of Blushing

Blushing is a completely natural, physiological response. Increased blood flow goes to your face, causing a temporary red flush to your skin. It can happen if you get too hot, or from certain foods and drinks.

It can also happen as part of your anxiety and fear response. There’s a rush of adrenaline that increases blood flow to the surface of the skin. Your body is doing what it is designed to do. The problem is sometimes less that it happens and more your fear of blushing.

You worry it may happen and that can inadvertently increase the likelihood that it then happens. You get anxious and self conscious around others about what if it happens or at the first sign of your face heating up. You overthink it and believe it is something negative to be feared. You worry about other people noticing and about them judging you negatively. Even worse, they may point it out if it happens (and you want the floor to just open up in those moments).

You get stressed and frustrated that it even happens to you. Should it happen, then you panic and then feel bad afterwards. You may avoid people you’ve blushed in front of or places it has happened. And you may avoid some social situations in case it happens. It’s just too excruciating to put yourself into those situations and to run the gauntlet of blushing again.

The more you focus upon it and worry about it, the more likely it becomes. It’s a classic example of anxiety feeding and re-enforcing itself. You worry that it might happen, feel anxious in case it does, and then panic when it happens.

You might try all sorts of things to reassure yourself or to try and avert it from happening. Yet the anxiety leads to a physiological response and you can’t control that part. What you can start to control are your thoughts and feelings about blushing. You stop worrying it may happen and so it doesn’t happen. Or if your bodily response does happen, you relax and let it easily pass rather than spiralling into fear and anxiety. Rather than trying to control the blushing, you start to take control over the thoughts and feelings that lead to the fear that causes the blushing.

 

Fear of Blushing and Social Anxiety

A fear of blushing often overlaps with social anxiety. After all, you never worry about the possibility of blushing when on your own.

Your self consciousness and anxiety are fuelled by an underlying fear of being judged or embarrassed in front of others. You worry what they will think if you become red and flushed in front of them. Your anxiety and fear may be worse with certain people, when in larger groups or any other moment where it feels all eyes are on you. Your social anxiety leads to the fight or flight response and this can cause your  face to get hot.

You might dread some social events before they even happen. You can replay conversations in your mind afterwards, worrying about how you came across. Some people do all they can to avoid social or work situations altogether.

It all creates a frustrating, ongoing cycle. Anxiety triggers blushing, blushing increases anxiety, and the fear of it happening again keeps you tense and on edge.

While this pattern can make you feel stuck, it can be changed. With the right strategies and support, you can calm your body’s stress response and start feeling more confident and comfortable in social situations.

You may want also to check out my other articles about social anxiety and why you should stop worrying what other people think.

 

Three Practical Strategies to start Reducing Blushing

Here are three practical strategies to help you to start tackling your fear of blushing. Remember, you aren’t seeking to directly control the blushing itself (that’s an unconscious bodily response to stress), you are seeking to break the cycle of anxiety and to undermine the unwanted thoughts and feelings that underpin it.

 

1. Shift Your Focus From Your Face

Fear directs attention. When you have a fear of blushing, you may constantly monitor your face. Are you going a bit red? Do you look flushed? Are your cheeks feeling hotter? This focus makes you anxious, which increases the changes of blushing. Should you feel that warm flush starting, your anxiety escalates. You worry they’ll notice which makes you more anxious. They extra anxiety causes more blood flow to your skin. You can feel the heat rising so now they must definitely be noticing. You feel even more anxious. The spiral starts with your initial worrying thought.

When you think about blushing, or feel the start of a warm flush, shift all your focus elsewhere. Notice what’s around you, the sounds and sights. You can use the grounding strategies in my previous article or any other method for cutting off your negative thinking quickly and immediately.  Grounding yourself in the present moment can stop the anxious spiral that fuels blushing. Over time you retrain your mind to stop thinking of blushing as being a threat.

 

2.  Challenge Your Thinking

The fear of blushing comes with worry about what others think and about being judged harshly. Sure, there are some unpleasant people out there who have nothing good to say about anyone. But who cares what they find to grumble about. Most people are very nice and don’t go around constantly criticising others. In fact, people are too busy in their own heads to have much time for you and your blushing even if it did happen.

Yet normally, it isn’t what people are actually thinking that is the problem. The problem is what your anxiety leads you to imagine and believe other people will think. Really think, what’s the worst that would really happen if you blushed? If you’ve seen someone else get flushed, did you judge them harshly? Is what you re thinking based upon fact, or are you making it up inside your head based upon your usual old anxious habits?

The reality is far less harsh than the story anxiety tells you. No-one else really cares if you blush so let go of the worry about whether it happens or not. Other people are too focused upon themselves to take much, if any, notice. Even if they do, blushing is just a normal human physiological response so aim to let go of the responsibility of trying in vain to control it. By recognising that thoughts are not facts, you start to weaken the grip of anxiety.

 

3. Learn To Calm Yourself

Blushing is part of your body’s stress system. Learning to calm your physical response can make a big positive difference. You aim to stop anxious feelings from rising and to bring any anxious feelings down. Techniques such as slow breathing (with your out breath longer), progressive muscle relaxation and visualisation can all help reduce the intensity of what you used to feel. You might also like to try my free Rapid Relaxation hypnosis download.

Many people also find that hypnotherapy for social anxiety and hypnotherapy to reduce the fear of blushing can be helpful. You work directly on changing the anxious thoughts and feelings that make blushing problematic. You can reduce the gear of embarrassment, end the worry of being judged, cam anxious thoughts and build a sense of calm confidence in social situations.

 

Overcoming The Fear of Blushing

Blushing doesn’t have to hold you back or dictate how you live your life. When you understand why it happens and start applying calm, consistent strategies, you can break fee from the cycle of fear and regain confidence and inner peace in social situations. Feeling calmer means blushing happens less. Learning to not care so much means if it happens you deal with it easier and it passes quicker. And because you are more relaxed about the possibility of blushing, it happens less and less.

If you could use some expert professional support to reduce social anxiety and the fear of blushing then my hypnotherapy can help you change the way your mind and body respond. You can feel calmer, more comfortable and more at ease being yourself when around others.

You can read more about hypnotherapy for anxiety on my website. Or, if you’d like to learn more about how hypnotherapy can help you personally, please do get in touch to arrange your free initial consultation. It’s your first step towards being the calm, comfortable and confident you.

To your health and happiness,

Dan Regan

Social Anxiety Hypnotherapy in Ely and Newmarket

 

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