Blushing, we all do it sometimes. Getting a red head is annoying. Usually in a situation where we feel uncomfortable because we are ashamed of something. Suddenly we feel the heat rising from our neck to our cheeks, and our heads seem to be boiling. When you look in the mirror at such a moment you see yourself with a head as red as a swollen tick. What can be done about it?
From blushing to fear of blushing to phobia of blushing
Blushing, getting a red head, feeling embarrassed on the cheeks… Some people blush so severely that they develop a fear of blushing. This fear of blushing hinders them in social interactions with other people. Fear of blushing can become a kind of obsession, with the result that people can no longer think about anything else. They no longer dare to meet other people or dare not to say anything for fear of blushing. As soon as someone speaks to them, they still get red in the face. Even thinking about blushing makes them blush.
Red head, what now?
Constantly getting a red head due to rapid blushing is very annoying. If you blush often, people around you will get used to it and after a few lame jokes, the novelty will wear off quickly. Yet not everyone manages to deal with their own blushing lightly. Blushing becomes a big problem for them, which they want to get rid of as quickly as possible. All kinds of therapies and methods have been devised to help people get rid of (severe) blushing and/or fear of blushing. These often involve conversations with a counselor to talk about feelings, experience, insecurity and fear of blushing. Sometimes medications are even prescribed against flushing, the so-called anti-flushing pill, but these prove to be of little effectiveness. A troublesome side effect of the anti-flushing pill is (believe it or not) redness of the skin!
What exactly is blushing?
Flushing is actually an annoying physical reaction to a non-physical cause. Someone blushes when he or she relaxes the muscles in the face out of fright (because of a blunder or a compliment). These muscles normally pinch the blood vessels in the face somewhat closed. If something happens that someone is ashamed of, the muscles stop contracting the blood vessels for a moment, resulting in more blood flowing to those blood vessels and them filling up nicely. This in turn results in you getting a head like a beet. Not pleasant, but something that has happened to almost everyone. The fact that it occurs in some people throughout the day is usually due to ‘fear of blushing’.
Blushing, what can you do about it?
Searching the internet, my attention was drawn to Mind Tuning, a method devised by Pieter Frijters. Personally, I suspect that his way of working is very effective. I don’t know whether Mind Tuning is reimbursed by insurers, because when I looked at the rates I almost started to blush. I don’t think Mind Tuning is cheap, but if you have already tried everything and nothing helps, then it might be worth treating yourself with a Mind Tuning session. Ultimately, it’s about your daily life. A life without blushing, with self-confidence, with opportunities to help yourself and others… That is actually priceless and very valuable. There are also courses to deal with blushing; therapies against flushing, and certain teaching methods against flushing.