Gone all red

[Nicolitared]

Hi, I have never experienced anxiety before so this is overwhelming for me. for the past year i have experienced feelings of nervousness, agitation and becoming easily embarrassed! When i get nervous or stressed by chest becomes red and blotchy, my face becomes red like im massively blushing, i feel really hot and uncomfortable! Socially its very awkward and i hate it! i used to never have a problem with public speaking and being in a large group, now i just cant handle it. Im always consciously thinking "is my face red?" " dont say anything or walk away otherwise you will go red" i have good and bad days sometimes im confident and dont care sometimes im so self conscience.  I know its a conscious thing i have to control my thoughts but how do i do this? Its all i think about everyday!  What do i do???

[white knight]

Hi N, welcome to Beyond Blue forums,

My anxiety, when I had it spanning 3 decades, didnt have those symptoms.  I suggest you visit you GP and see how that goes.

Take care.

[Doolhof]

Hi Nicolitared,

I would like to extend you a warm welcome to BB as well. It certainly helps to share your worries and concerns with others. I certainly don't have an answer for you regarding your condition, so as White Knight has mentioned, I would go to your Dr and explain to him or her what is happening.

When I am feeling anxious or panicky, I sometimes wet my pants and then my face goes red from embarrassment!

You have mentioned the redness doesn't happen all of the time. Do you recall when this issue started to happen for you? Was there an event which triggered your anxiety? Are you with certain people when you experience this?

I have a friend who has now found out she suffered brain damage during an operation she had. A result of this is that she cries a lot, it can happen anywhere at any time and she has little control of it. At first it really upset her and she stayed at home. Now she goes out and about and if she cries, she cries. She now accepts it as a part of her. And the thing is, that the more she accepts it the less it happens!

Some people say it doesn't help to try to change your thoughts, but it certainly works for me. Maybe you could try to tell yourself that "Yes, my face is turning red, that is okay, it will not stay like this."

Just for a little humour, you could think, yes my face is red, but at least I haven't wet my pants like Mrs. Dools!

Please get back to us and let us know how you are getting on with all of this.

From Mrs. Dools