Social Anxiety Disorder - How to Overcome Blushing
Red face, commonly known as flushing or blushing, is a common symptom experienced by a person with social anxiety. When a person becomes nervous, blood vessels tend to dilate thus making blood rush in the areas of the cheeks, forehead, nose and ears. Anxiety can make the skin turn sweaty and warm, which serve as a cue to nervous individual that he is starting to turn red. In most cases, nervousness caused by social anxiety is usually intensified by extreme consciousness that other people will start to notice your embarrassing predicament. When you get even more stressed out, this worsens your red face and other anxiety symptoms you are experiencing.
Apply the tips below to effectively deal with stress which is the main cause of red face:
- Practice positive thinking. When you feel anxious, stop everything you are doing and take a deep breath to calm your nerves. Emotions, like anxiety and nervousness, usually trigger physiological responses which lead to red face. Taking deep breaths and thinking positive affirmations can effectively slow down physiological responses experienced by the body, thus preventing blood from rushing to your face.
- Minimize stress in your life to avoid possible anxiety attacks. Learn not to dwell on what other people may think or say. Things are not as bad as you initially thought they are. Develop strong relationship with people who make you feel good inside. It always helps to talk to someone, like your family, friends or pastor.
- Set realistic goals. Don’t be too hard on yourself when something doesn’t go right or don’t turn out according to your plans. Don’t stress out on small things. Avoid getting too competitive. You are just stressing yourself out this way. Organize your priorities and your life. Plan things accordingly so you don’t get swamped with tasks which need to be done.
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Physical exercise and observing proper diet helps a lot in relieving tension. Avoid unhealthy food, tobacco, drugs, alcohol or caffeine.
- Use techniques to help you manage stress. There are a lot of self-help books and websites which can give you an overview about social anxiety and how to handle different symptoms related to anxiety attacks.
- Visit your doctor. This is the best resort if your red face problem is severe and can’t be handled by lifestyle changes. There might be other issues behind your excessive blushing aside from anxiety. Your doctor might advice you to undergo psychological counselling and take anti-anxiety medicines.
Sidenote: Keep picturing yourself (in your mind's eye) very relaxed under a stressful situation. Also picture your face icy cool, while you confidently face the anxious situation. Do this for thiry to ninety days and you should see a vast improvement.