All About Blushing Problems and How to Overcome them with Psychological Therapy & Counselling

Why do People Blush?

Blushing is the involuntary reddening of the face, usually (but not always) triggered by an emotional experience such as embarrassment or stress and invariably occurs when you ‘need it least’!

It affects people of all genders in roughly equal numbers.

More often than not, other areas of your body such as the neck, ears and upper chest can also be affected.

As well as causing redness, it can also make the affected area actually feel hot – often described as feeling “flush.”

Although this is a normal reaction to certain situations, you may feel very self-conscious when you blush and would like to be able to stop those “inappropriate” blushes.

Because blushing can be seen by other people it is often linked to social anxiety.

Worrying about going red in public is known as Erythrophobia.

Blushing Symptoms

The symptoms associated with blushing problems are very similar to experienced with social anxiety and may include:

• Redness of the face, neck, and ears.
• Warmth or heat sensation in the affected areas.
• Increased heart rate or palpitations.
• Sweating or feeling flushed.
• Feeling self-conscious or embarrassed.
• Avoiding situations or activities that may trigger blushing.
• Experiencing anxiety or social phobia related to blushing.

Although there may be physical reasons why you might blush, such as certain illlnesses or other biological factors (see below), most blushing problems are psychological in nature.

What Causes Blushing?

“Normally” you blush when a strong emotional trigger stimulates the nervous system to widen the blood vessels in the face, technically known as “vasodilation.”

This increases the flow of blood into the blood vessels just underneath the skin, causing your face to turn red.

It can be triggered by both Psychological as well as Physical causes, such as:

• Social Anxiety (social phobia) – the fear of social situations and being around people (psychological).
• Rosacea – a skin condition that mainly affects the face (physiological).
• Female Menopause (physiological).
• Some medications – for example Tamoxifen used in breast cancer treatment (physiological).
• It can also be triggered by alcohol consumption, hot drinks, eating hot or spicy food and strenuous exercise.

We recommend that you consult your GP prior to contacting us in order to rule out any of the physiological causes listed above.

Do I Need Therapy for Blushing?

Most people will blush from time to time, and it’s not usually a cause for concern.

However, if you blush frequently it can have a significant negative impact and lead to the avoidance of certain situations or interacting with other people.

If it has become a problem then consider making an appointment to come along for one of our free initial consultations where we can discuss the types of therapy available.

Therapy & Counselling for Blushing

We offer a number of different types of therapy and counselling for blushing and blushing-related anxiety problems.

Choosing the most suitable therapy depends on a number of different considerations including factors such as:

• How long you have had the problem.
• Your personal preferences.
• How your problem is affecting you today.

You can read more about the different types of therapy for blushing problems on the following links:

• CBT for Blushing
• Counselling for Blushing issues
• Pluralistic Therapy for Blushing

Although all therapies use slightly different approaches, the one thing they all have in common is the relationship that is formed between the client and therapist.

Research suggests that this therapy relationship may be the most important factor in achieving a good therapy outcome.

The Behaviour Change Framework

All of our blushing counselling sessions and programmes use the Behaviour Change Framework (BCF).

This scientifically proven protocol defines the stages of behaviour change that you need to go through in order to achieve long lasting and sustainable change.

The framework provides a roadmap that indicates if more change is required before entering the next phase of mental health therapy.

In this way, we are able to ensure that you get the best possible level of support in overcoming your mental health problems as well preventing early termination of therapy.

You can read more about the Science of Change here.

Arrange your FREE initial consultation here.

If you’d like to find out more about overcoming blushing issues or recovering from any of your mental health problems then why not arrange a free initial consultation with us.

During this consultation we will discuss your particular issues and the different types of mental health counselling we offer without you having to commit to any counselling going forward.

The consultation lasts around 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to meet with either Paul or Joan and decide if you would like to proceed with any support.