Blushing

[Sally99]

I'm middle aged and still blush so easily. The fear of blushing stops me joining in social occasions and means that I spend so much time alone and lonely.

To other blushers out there. How do you cope? When you feel yourself going red do you ignore it, comment on it, or do your best to run away like I do?

I used to have quite bad rosacea, which is similar in effect. As far as I could tell, other people don't really take any particular notice but I always felt a lot better with decent foundation on which can hide it pretty effectively.

See if you can find my previous recent threads on this very thing. I suffer with performance and social anxiety and blush at the drop of hat! Silly things, like seeing someone I know unexpectedly in the supermarket etc.I tried Sertraline 100mg for about 10 weeks, didnt seem to do much for me. Now I'm trying an increased dose of propranolol (40mg up to 3 times a day) and I also have Clonidine on stand-by if I want to try that if the propranolol doesn't work.

I hate that I do this. I never see anyone else blush like I do. I know its not just fear of blushing (which is always there) but I do blush as I can see it on my chest and it takes ages to go away from my face. Even my parting blushes.

I hope you find something that helps, its an awful thing to suffer with and can really hold you back. I'd ideally like to have the operation (think its called ETS? Or something like that anyway) but its private only.

@PinkCosYouAreSoVery Thank you so much, I will look for your post. I too would like the op

I don't have any real advice, just want you to know you are not alone. I also blush like mad at the smallest thing like someone saying hello unexpectedly. It's not just a faint blush in the cheeks either, it's usually a deep red that spreads like a rash to my neck, too if my arms and chest. It started when I was about 10. If ever there was a dodgy smell at school I'd blush like mad and get blamed even though it was nothing to do with me!! 😳I had a job interview recently and knew it would happen so I tried St Johns wort tablets about half an hour before and I found it helped, but only a little. Someone told me hypnotherapy is the only real way to stop it happening. Apparently they can train your body to blush where it's not noticeable, but I think the waiting lists for treatments like that are horrendous. Thanks for this thread, it's nice to know others have the same problem and can share advice.

You are not alone.

I was a terrible blusher too, OP, the worst I ever knew. It happened everywhere all the time - at the dinner table, when sitting opposite someone on the underground, bumping into people unexpectedly, etc, etc.
I never leave the house without foundation, but the blushing has more or less stopped now (eased a bit from my 40s onwards and in my 50s is has practically gone, I think because I give less of a shit about what people think).
It never actually stopped me having a good and fulfilling social life though, because I and people around me just learned to accept it.
All the best to you. You are definitely not alone.

I am the same. It has been awful for me, in the past it has been really upsetting, people have laughed and it ruined my self-esteem and confidence.
Quite a number of years ago now I had hypnotherapy, I paid for it myself and it was expensive but it has been really worth it. It made me not be so bothered by blushing, I stopped worrying about it and even if I did blush it didn't upset me and I didn't dwell on it or think about it. I probably do still blush but no one mentions it and I don't really care.

I actually think it’s a bit of a generational thing.
The kids these days are t nearly as bothered - l think as they are ( for the most part more accepting)
they’ll say things like “ oh my god l went to red “ etc… not really caring.
everyone blushes / l don’t know anyone that doesn’t actually.
😉