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Blushing: When a Common Reaction Becomes a Problem

© Alexander L. Gerlach

As someone plagued with uncontrollable "rosy cheek" syndrome all my life, I thought some of you could relate to this article. Although, I'm still prone to blushing, I've learned to accept this characteristic as part of who I am.

Whether you blush, stutter, or sweat profusely, you can learn to manage these visible signs of anxiety when you stop beating yourself up, which only makes it worse. Accepting every part of yourself is the key to self growth. With every trait you despise about yourself, there's always an accompanying positive quality. Blushing usually is associated with a more acute sensitivity, which is an offspring of a genuine, caring, socially conscious, and loving human being.

-- Irene Sleight

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A lawyer gives up her practice out of fear of blushing in court. An executive is unable to conduct meetings, sidetracking his career. A salesman fears losing a major sale because he thinks the customer will interpret his blushing as the result of dishonesty and a guilty conscience. A student avoids gatherings where she might become the center of attention, because the fear of an unbidden rosy flush has become too stressful.

When asked about their decisions, such people say they are concerned about being judged negatively because of their blushing. They believe that blushing is interpreted mostly as proof of weakness, dishonesty, immaturity, and so forth. Furthermore, they feel that due to the visibility of blushing, they are not able to present themselves socially in a positive way. In contrast, people who enjoy social situations may also see blushing as a sign of nervousness or shyness, but they also say that blushing can reveal sensitivity, make a person look cute, or be simply the expression of energy. One ironic effect of the fear of blushing is that the fear itself can increase the activity of the autonomic nervous system, thus increasing the likelihood of blushing. The more you are afraid of blushing in front of someone important, the more likely it is that a compliment from that person will deeply color your face red. Charles Darwin, in his book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, called blushing "the most peculiar and most human of all expressions." Almost everybody has blushed at one time or another. Blushing occurs most commonly when someone suddenly experiences embarrassment, perhaps because of spilling a drink or leaving a zipper unzipped. On the other hand, blushing may also occur in the absence of an embarrassing event, and some people can feel terribly embarrassed without blushing. For some people, however, blushing has become the central focus of their embarrassment.