cdb87
New member
I am 18 and have been a long time victim of facial blushing. It has literally hindered my social life and my own self image. I just don't understand how I could possibly turn so red over the silliest situations. For example, my friend and I were at a cellular phone store waiting to been seen by a representative and she whispered to me that the guy waiting on another customer had a hickey on his neck. My face started to go red and I could feel the warmth and she said why is your face soo red?? I said I didn't know and she replyed by saying It's getting even redder now! Why I blushed in that situation is beyond me. It's almost like I can't control it and when It happens I will try to hide my face as much as possible. I'll look down at the ground or pick up a book or magazine and pretend im reading it. This is getting ridiculous. It happens at least 5 or more times a day for the most insignificant reasons. When I try to understand this problem I think about what exactly is behind the feelings of needing to blush. When we voice our opinion on something people are always going to judge what we have to say. That is natural. However, this should not be so detrimental that we blush. Low self esteem and the rush of adrenalin are major causes. We feel people are going to point out our red faces or think to themselves that we are weird or not normal. And that fact is terrifying. All that focus on actual blushing only makes it worse. If i am somewhere where it's really dim or dark and Im with a bunch of people, I am not as shy or timid because I know, no matter what I say, people can't see my red face and knowing that they can't see it, makes it not happen at all. So I guess what Im trying to say is that we fear what we can prevent. This is preventable, we just have to train our thoughts to the positive instead of worrying constantly that we will blush in certain situations. Next time someone comes up to you and asks you an embarassing question, pretend your in the dark and they can't see your face, look them straight in the eye the whole time (even if you go red) because hiding from it makes it worse. Just basically act like it's not even happening at all, like it's a natural thing. Also if you feel your blushing may be caused by other reasons talk to your doctor and they can test you for certain health problems. I have hyperthyroidism and I have read that blushing is also a symptom of this problem.