Blushing all over

[Blondie101]

I have suffered with anxiety for years and have tried to ignore it as much as I can. But it's getting harder. The last couple of weeks I have had countless situations where I have become very nervous and embarrassed in the most normal social situations with family , friends and even my partner . I feel my face getting hot and I know I am blushing madly , I try and calm myself down but I can't It takes awhile to calm down and once I have I feel stupid for it and wonder what people will think of me. Today it happened at work just because my partner came in to say hello. I had no reason to get nervous but I did and i was so red from embarrassment it even gave me a headache. 😫 I just don't know what to do anymore. It's so exhausting

[JellicoeGirl99]

Hi Blondie101,

I go through the same thing daily as part of my social anxiety so I know your pain. I hate the attention being on me because I know I will blush, and I fear people will think they've embarrassed me when they haven't. However, I've learnt that's it's actually a way bigger deal to me than it is to anyone else. But like you said, it's exhausting, and I've been told by my psychologist in the past that getting rid of it requires a course of exposure therapy, and that it's actually very easy to get over! Basically you'd have to face each situation that makes you uncomfortable in ascending order, and eventually you'd feel stronger in social environments. So maybe if you don't already you could look into seeing someone like your GP to help you out and set these goals for you!

hope this helps and all the best 🙂

JellicoeGirl

[JellicoeGirl99]

Oh I forgot to add! In the meantime, controlling your breathing helps. The blushing is part of your fight or flight response and an accompanying adrenaline rush- that's why it may happen more often in moments you're caught off guard, like your partners surprise visit- so taking slow breaths to slow down your heart rate will help lessen the initial redness and help it go away quicker 🙂 sometimes I can avoid blushing altogether when I accept I'll be in a social situation and start controlling my breathing early