Erythrophobia – Fear of Blushing

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It’s quite a common experience for most of us to become embarrassed at some points in life. We may say the wrong thing in a conversation or feel out of depth when asked a question in a work meeting. Embarrassment occurs primarily in social situations. We might imagine negative appraisal from others. Sometimes it may be due to our own self-consciousness with feelings of low self worth, doubt in our abilities, guilt or shame.

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Embarrassment often leads to blushing which is governed by the same system that activates your fight or flight system. Blushing occurs when an emotional trigger causes your glands to release the hormone adrenaline in your body. Adrenalin has an effect on your nervous system, which in turn causes the capillaries that carry blood to your skin to widen. Since blood is brought closer to the surface of the skin, it causes you to blush.

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In order to become embarrassed, blush and then develop a fear of blushing in the future – which is what a phobia is all about – we need to subconsciously develop a phenomenon in social psychology known as the "spotlight effect". This is about overestimating the extent to which your appearance and actions are noticed by others. We imagine we are in the spotlight and our emotions feel as if they could be seen as though we are transparent. We then are likely to fear similar situations in the future and can even blush at the mere thought of the situation. Thus, people have a tendency to repeatedly replay an embarrassing event in their mind in which they were the main character. This leads to more anticipation of blushing and often avoidance of challenging social situations.

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Hypnotherapy for Fear of Blushing in Bath and Salisbury

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As with other phobias, hypnosis can help you relax in situations in which previously you may have felt anxious or lacking in confidence. Hypnosis can help you develop a sense that you are in control of how you want to be feeling when previously you may have blushed with anxiety.

If you’d like to be supported in overcoming your fear of blushing, please call now to book a session.