# Facial Blushing



## Kate23 (Jul 22, 2017)

Hey guys, I'm new to this group/forum etc. I suffer from social anxiety, my most notable symptom being extreme facial blushing  I get red in situations when I'm not even embarrassed, its like my mind just takes over and all of a sudden I start having a panic attack in social situations for no apparent reason. Ive never seen a specialist or spoken to anyone in my life about this. The only thing that has helped alleviate my social anxiety is facing my fears and being more social. I personally find I blush a lot more during the day time (when people have the potential to actually SEE if Im blushing). Where as at night time when im out and its a little darker in social situations, I tend to be less anxious and blush less. I put this down to the fear of blushing that is taking over my life. Does anyone else relate to this at all?! Would be great to know Im not alone. I would LOVE to try and "cure" my social anxiety if thats even possible, and I figured joining a page like this would be a good first step.


Does anyone else have tips/comments that are relatable to my situation?!


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## Chevy396 (Jul 10, 2017)

This used to happen more then it does now. It was very embarrassing in school if it happened. I felt like it was bad because I didn't know of any other guys who it happened to.

Somehow it has calmed down over the years. Maybe I have learned to control it out of pure fear. I can't say exactly what I did.


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## probably offline (Oct 8, 2012)

I could've written this myself, pretty much. Like you, I've always prefered night time when it comes to social situations(for that reason) :lol I blush less now than when I was younger, though. It's usually best to not fight the blushing. Sometimes I joke about it to take the edge off.


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## SplendidBob (May 28, 2014)

I used to when I was young. It's the ultimate self fulfilling prophecy, I seem to recall. If you aren't bothered about blushing, you won't blush as much, if it bothers you then you blush more. That was how it always seemed for me at any rate.

If that is true (and maybe it doesn't match other peoples experience), the way around it perversely would be to become content with blushing, that is, in social situations _try_ to blush. It's rather similar to OCD, it seems to me in that you have to become tolerant of the thing you hate and then it wont bother you, the struggle against it is what feeds it and makes it worse.

Maybe my experience of blushing is different to others though. I rarely do it now, but I might get caught up in something like "this would be weird if I blushed, people might read something into that" - "oh ****, I am starting to blush" (feels cheeks reddening) - "****, now people think what was said actually does mean something to me" (blushing intensifies).


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## Thejoke (Oct 7, 2016)

My now wife had this same problem. When she was a teen, she would blush literally over someone giving her eye contact. Her blushing is actually the reason I met her. and I met her through this site.

I asked her now just now, what do you think helped you? she said it was me, I gave her confidence and made her feel beautiful and she thinks it just gets better with age..

and if you want to know my opinion. blushing doesn't look weird or funny . it doesn't seem like a big deal to me, but I can never really understand it because I have never felt that before.


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## tidbit (May 13, 2015)

This has always been my biggest giveaway that I am nervous in social situations. I am really fair skinned, so when I go red, you notice it!
However, I've gotten it a little under control. When I feel my temperature rising(that's when I know I'm going to get red) I start breathing through my mouth while I'm talking. I can't really explain it, and it probably makes no sense, but I've noticed it keeps me calmer and lowers my temperature/brings down my blushing.


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## a degree of freedom (Sep 28, 2011)

Not sure if this helps, but I have never once actually noticed anyone blushing. I imagine it feels a lot more visual than it actually is.

With most physical symptoms of anxiety, I figure the best thing you can do is laugh about it and find a little enjoyment in chaos. Let people think things and find enjoyment in the things they come up with. It's basically the opposite of trying to control what people will think about you if you enjoy a little randomness and confusion and playfulness. Feel free to smile or laugh at your own quirks because it's so much more fun to be interesting than to fit in!


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## Tuan Jie (Apr 6, 2017)

Welcome here Kate23! 
You're not the only one. I used to blush almost every day at school. It made me dread going there like nobody's business. It got better over time, but it's still something I'm afraid of happening on bad days. Especially in social situation's I can't escape. It boils down to you feeling wrong/inadequate and you're afraid it'll be discovered by others. When you think they do or are about to, it happens. The thing is, it's all internal. It's all you. Feeling ashamed and judging your perceived inadequacies. Others hardly ever do it like you do it to yourself. The key is to allow yourself to be inadequate, to claim the right to be so. Take good care of the little boy or girl inside. Good luck!


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## bigyin (Jul 28, 2017)

Hello everyone I suffer from extreme blushing for no reason whatsoever to the point it's ruining my life, I'm 25 years old male and work in the building industry so for any workmates to see a weakness in you you're finished they pounce on you and they wind you up every day, part and parcel of banter I would say I'm confident inside a give out as good as a get , but a feel the difference for me is people get embarrassed then they're face turns red for me it's the opposite my face goes red then I get embarrassed here's a few scenarios, I could be in a shop person serving will ask how many sugars in you're coffee bright red instantly for a silly question like that , or even meeting someone in supermarket I know instantly red in face just talking, a bend down to tie shoe laces stand up and face is bright red even a driving mistake in car myself I feel myself going bright red , that's why a feel my condition is more physical than mentally, I'm very healthy I play soccer golf atleast 4 times a week I don't smoke drink alcohol, unhealthy food eat spicy food which I seen alot online says could make you blush which is a LIE , at soccer and golf I've played infront of hundreds of people in tournaments and feel super confident I don't blush once why a don't know , I've tried hypnosis biggest waste of money ever because it's to do with the mind I never go into situations thinking I'll blush it just happens I feel my face very warm all the time and a single movement triggers it off even when I play soccer my face goes bright red , I'm naturally healthy and got healthy skin no bloaches rashes etc , I just don't know why I blush I've tried venlafaxine medication didn't work clonidine made me feel very sleepy and didn't work , this awful condition has had a big impact on my life not going to blow my own trumpet but I know I could make it professional at soccer I've got a god given talent but to be in a changing room and someone asks you how you keeping bright red everybody joins in look at him he's getting embarrassed when I don't feel embarrassed horrible feeling , so when people say nobody notices it's in you're mind I'm sorry but that's a LIE aswell I feel confident inside I just would love to know if you fellow blushers could help or have any stories much appreciated xx I need to beat this horrible disease love you all


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## Tuan Jie (Apr 6, 2017)

@bigyin
That's awful. I can sure imagine how it ruins your life. If you're convinced it isn't an emotional issue, the only thing I can think of is that it could be hormone related. If you haven't already, you may want to have it checked by your family doctor. I hope things will come around for you. Good luck!


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## bigyin (Jul 28, 2017)

Thanks for your reply, I'm 100% convinced it's not mentally I forgot to mention I had my blood pressure tested and it was fine completely level, I'm not nervous or panicked in social situations but the face feeling warm 24/7 and blushing frequently has caused me to remove myself from these situations because of the red face / blushing / flushing my self esteem is at an all time low , think you could be right with the hormone imbalance tried everything else and never even thought about hormone imbalance, thank you very much all let you know how I get on in next few weeks, cheers


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## Nitrogen (Dec 24, 2012)

Blushing is my worst physical symptom of anxiety, and it's like a self-fulfilling prophecy in that I get anxious about blushing, then start blushing, start thinking about how I'm blushing and get even more red. I ****ing hate it, and no medication I've been on has been able to lessen the symptoms of it for me. My face feels incredibly hot whenever I'm around people and I turn bright red.

If anyone knows of medication or tips that's actually helped lessen it, I would be forever grateful.


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