Scopophobia – An intense and irrational fear of being stared at or seen. Symptoms include staying away from large groups of people, for example restaurants. Even simple everyday activities such as walking down the street can be uncomfortable as sufferers believe everyone is staring at and judging them.

Does this sound familiar? Does your blushing relate to this? Hopefully by making you aware of this condition it will aid you on your journey to stop blushing.

Wikipedia

Keanu Reeves Blushes when Complemented

This is a severe form of blushing where even smallest events can trigger someone to blush and it is often linked to social anxiety disorder. Glancing at someone or even just talking to family or friends causes a facial flush to overwhelm the face, sometimes lasting for several minutes afterwards. This form of blushing can be triggered by even the smallest of things and is a more chronic condition than the usual problems people face with blushing. Because the condition is so severe people often avoid relationships and end up in jobs which have little face to face contact.

Rosacea

Early symptoms of Rosacea include blushing, redness and facial flushing across the nose, forehead, cheeks and neck. Redness across these areas can become semi permanent as the condition worsens. This differentiates the condition from blushing in that it lasts longer and can also have no psychological trigger although psychologically triggered blushing may also occur. Other causes that trigger Rosacea include changes in temperature and strenuous exercise. Rosacea occurs later in life and peaks from the ages of 30 to 50. It is also found to be more common in European and Celtic ethnicities. Famous Rosacea sufferers include Bill Clinton and Diana Princess of Wales.

Erythrophobia

A form of social phobia, Erythrophobia is the fear of blushing itself and is probably one of the most common conditions. Going into social situations the person will begin tensing up as they fear that they will blush, which in turn makes them more likely to blush. This can cause people to avoid social contact and it can also hinder their lives. Often the fear of the blushing ends up actually being worse than the blushing itself. Realising this can help to reduce the problem.

Do you suffer from any Blushing or Facial Flushing conditions or disorders? If so then we’d like to hear your story in the comments section below.

Similar to speed dating but without any words, Eye Gazing is the new craze for people looking for love. Singles attending the event are given a quick guide on how to make good eye contact. The strangers are then told to pair up and stare into each others eyes, 2 minutes a go, for a total of 20 gazes during the evening. It’s intense, uncomfortable and difficult to do, but that’s the whole point. So much singles chatter involves pointless small talk that we often avoid making real contact with one another.

Eye Gazing was created by salsa dancer Michael Ellsberg who says that strong eye contact was often the most important yet often lacking ingredient when creating a good dance. Realising the parallels between dancing and dating he set out to see if the magic from the dancing world could be transferred to the dating world.

It’s been a brilliant success as “afterwards conversations and phone number exchange with ease because people feel an inexplicable closeness to one another”. When asked why eye contact? His response:

“Eye contact is, hands down and lashes up, the single best way to establish a meaningful connection with a new person in a short amount of time.  It gets quickly past the social roles that we often put up in interacting with one another which allows a quick penetration into a deeper layer of who we are as people which then allows us to feel more seen, understood, and open to each other. “

—

A little bit weird but still interesting stuff. If you’re a blusher and you really want to stop blushing then this should be one of your goals. I know that if an event ends up in my town then I’ll be going!

Eye Gazing Parties

A Video Guide on How to Stop Blushing

Blushing is an involuntary reaction to an emotional event which causes the fight or flight response in our bodies. The fight or flight response releases adrenaline into our blood stream. The adrenaline dilates the blood vessels around our body which allows the blood to flow more easily. It also increases the heart rate which makes the blood flow around the body at a faster pace. The blood vessels in your face reply to this emotional response with the chemical transmission of adenylyl cyclase which opens up the veins in your face even further creating a reddening appearance. A feeling of warmth and sweating may also occur as the blood vessels dilate.

Although fight and flight responses happen to all people, blushing varies from person to person. Some people do not blush at all, others only turn slightly pink and unfortunately some people they end up turning a bright red. Blushing occurs in all races although it is often more pronounced in pale and lighted skinned persons.

What happens to your body when you blush?

For most people it’s during the early teenage years when blushing starts becoming a major problem. Common reasons for blushing during this period are teasing or when they start communicating with the opposite sex. Again most people tend to brush it off or grow out of this stage however it’s during this period that some people start avoiding social contact and the problems begin.

Later times, such as when people start moving to college, can also be periods when people begin to have problems with blushing. As in early adolescence, blushing often occurs whilst communicating with members of the opposite sex. Not only can the social side of life deteriorate but the academic side of life can suffer as well as they begin to avoid class.

However, it generally seems that if you’ve made it into your twenties and haven’t had any problems blushing then it’s unlikely that they will develop. There are exceptions to this however and blushing problems can still develop later on in life although the chances are greatly diminished.

Leonardo DiCaprio Blushes

Leonardo Dicaprio was seen blushing in a recent television interview when questions were asked about the age at which he lost his virginity. Co-star Russell Crowe suggested that Leonardo was still a virgin during the time of his 18th birthday when the pair had been filming “The Quick and the Dead” a few years ago. When asked what was the difference between now and then, Crowe was reported to have said, “The two things that have changed about Leo since that time is he can drink legally and he’s no longer a virgin.”

When the interviewer Nancy O’Dell asked why he was blushing he replied, “Wow, I feel like I’m in a therapy session.”

—

So hopefully all you blushers out there can take solace in the fact the even big time movie stars have blushing problems.

Over the past week I’ve been searching the net for Blog Posts on How to Stop Blushing and I came across these articles:

• Avoid Blushing – Tips to stop blushing – A few blushing tips … – Blusher, also termed as rouge, augments your make up and gives a shiny look. It is a very important part of your make up and enhances your features to a great extent.
• 6 Easy Blushing Cures: Stop Blushing Now – f you want to stop blushing, try one of these 6 simple ways to stop blushing. 1: When do you blush? Sure, you know when you blush. But is there a pattern? What is the actual “thing” that starts your reaction and causes you to go so red …
• How to Stop Blushing? Bulletproof Ways Finally Revealed – How to Stop Blushing for Good. Blushing is one of the most annoying social problems many people have to endure day by day. This, however, does not need to be the case. Blushing is all a mental thing. Naturally, there are physiological …

Hope they help!

The walkway/corridor -

For some people this is the worst one. You’re casually strolling down a walkway or corridor but then suddenly it happens. You notice a familiar face walking towards you in the far off distance. You begin blushing even though the person is miles away. As the person moves closer, the blushing becomes brighter and brighter. You look away to the side pretending that you’re fascinated by the symmetrical patterns of the brickwork on the wall next to you. That doesn’t work so you begin fidgeting in your pockets, pretending you’ve lost your key or pen. You mutter a feeble ‘hi’ as the person walks past giving you a strange look. 5 minutes later you’re down a different walkway and notice someone off in the distance. “Oh god! Here we go again! Where’s a bush to dive into when you need one!”

The public speech -

You feel butterfly’s in your stomach as you begin walking onto the stage. As you reach the podium your palms begin to sweat. Your hands are shaking as you take out the paper with your speech written on it. Words start stuttering out of your mouth and then it happens. You can feel your face becoming hotter and hotter and then you look up at everyone and think, “Oh nooo! I’m turning red!!!”. This only makes things worse as you’re embarrassed about turning red, which only makes you more red and then in turn, more embarrassed and so on.

The staff meeting -

You’re sat around a big, long intimidating table. Everyone is looking prim and proper. Your boss in going on about how last months profit margin wasn’t where it should be. He starts pointing his finger round the table asking for opinions. “Oh dear! Here it comes”, you say to yourself, you know your turn is next. You hands tense up, you change position in your seat, “Quick think, think, think! Be confident! Don’t blush, say something clever!”. He points at you, you’re on. You know your face is turning into a tomato as you speak. You frantically start moving around the papers on the table in front of you, pointing at the coffee mug and saying something, anything that will distract people from your face and onto the table. Your boss says to everyone with glee “Look how red he’s turning!”. After your turn has passed you feel destroyed, you want to hide in a hole. Ahhhh, holes are nice, warm and comfortable, why can’t I be a mole?

And these are only 3 places, there’s tons of others. Which places cause you to blush the most? Please let us know in the comments.