Contents
Hello! Erythrophobia is a panicky, irrational fear of blushing. And today we will try to figure out what its essence is, and also why it arises.
What is it like?
Redness of the skin is inherent in absolutely every person. It just manifests itself differently.
Someone has a slightly noticeable slight blush as a reaction to some kind of experience, spicy food, or, say, physical activity. And at someone not only cheeks, but also ears with a neck turn red.
And if an ordinary person does not attach any importance to this feature of the body, then the erythrophobe is not able to control the horror that arises even at the thought that his skin will even slightly change its usual color.
And it doesn’t matter if he “blushes” with one person or with a large audience. He is equally scared and ashamed.
According to statistics, this phobia affects mainly women. Most likely, this is due to the fact that they are more emotional, sensitive.
It is rare to find a man who is embarrassed at any manifestation of attention to him, right? But among the strong half of humanity there are also erythrophobes.
Despite the fact that this disorder does not pose a particular threat to the physical health of a person, it does affect his social life. And, as you know, not for the better.
Fear of blushing in public can lead to the fact that the fob simply begins to avoid communication. Therefore, he will choose a job where contacts are excluded, giving up his own ambitions and prospects.
And his life will resemble a vicious circle. Since the worries about that, if only the excitement in the form of a blush did not make itself felt (in medicine, a blushing syndrome), the person still blushes, which makes him even more worried, and so on.
Symptoms
A person with this phobia usually speaks quietly, as he tends not to draw attention to his person. He is embarrassed even at the thought that now he will have to talk to someone, or speak in public.
She may worry that, because of her defect, she is not able to arrange her personal life, because who likes a person who just blushes a little?
If the feeling of fear reaches its maximum intensity, a panic attack occurs. This is when dryness in the mouth is felt, legs give way, hands tremble.
There is a sharp desire to go to the toilet, there is nausea and vomiting. But most often there is not enough air, which provokes an even greater panic attack. After all, the thought arises that death from suffocation will now come. Or from a heart attack, because the heart at such a moment also makes itself felt.
Causes
Low self-esteem
The face is supplied with a large number of blood vessels. When a person is excited, the pressure rises, which speeds up the process of blood circulation.
In some people, these vessels are located too close to the surface of the skin, so that even a very slight experience is noticeable.
So, individuals with low self-esteem may not accept their appearance, believing that they are already ugly, plus their cheeks are red, like a baby’s.
They are embarrassed that any emotion becomes known to everyone with whom they communicate. Sometimes you really want to hide sympathy, or other feelings, but the face always betrays that there is no question of any indifference.
Psychological trauma
If a child in childhood was teased by peers because he blushes a little, immediately, this could provoke the development of complexes in him, which gradually led to erythrophobia.
It is not uncommon for anchoring to occur. This is a technique in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) which is to create a conditioned reflex. That is, a certain response to a stimulus.
Specialists usually seek to consciously form a positive anchor in the client to help him cope with certain problems. But this process often occurs unconsciously without the participation of a psychotherapist.
For example, a person was once caught in a lie. And if, in connection with this, he lived through intense, toxic, that is, destructive shame, then later, every time he tries to hide the truth, he will live this feeling again. Because it was fixed in his subconscious as a negative experience.
It can even get to the point that he will worry at every need to communicate with someone. After all, suddenly you have to lie again?
Education
If the parents did that, constantly criticizing their child and pointing out his shortcomings, this has an extremely negative effect on his psyche, self-esteem.
Plus, if they did it publicly, also punishing them, the development of any kind of phobias will be ensured.
Since such behavior forms a wrong perception of one’s personality, as well as a lot of fears. The little man becomes anxious, insecure, shy and overly shy.
The child, living not only resentment, but also shame, will try to hide his emotions so as not to show his vulnerability. For which it is quite at risk to get «on the head», to be ridiculed, that he blushed, was frightened.
Erythrophobia also manifests itself if the baby did not receive support at rather tense moments, which he was unable to cope with on his own.
Treatment
Any phobia is a mental disorder, no matter how insignificant and even cute it may seem.
Therefore, in this case, you should definitely go for a consultation either to a psychotherapist or a psychiatrist. They usually cooperate with each other and, if necessary, prescribe complex treatment.
A psychologist will help you understand your causes of erythrophobia, as well as choose methods that will speed up the recovery process.
The psychiatrist will prescribe antidepressants as an accompanying therapy. If suicidal thoughts arise against the background of experiences, there are no desires and strengths to just get out of bed.
Also sedatives to reduce anxiety and open access to other feelings. Indeed, because of anxiety, horror and panic, it is difficult to experience tenderness, calmness, joy, and so on.
In case of sleep disorders, the doctor will prescribe sleeping pills. The body should recover at night, otherwise all efforts will go down the drain.
Recommendations
If your skin really turns red too often, then in addition to visiting a psychotherapist, you should also think about your lifestyle.
If during the course of therapy you deal with the psychological causes of fear, then restoring the uniformity of skin color should be entrusted to a dermatologist, allergist, or nutritionist.
In any case, they will, if necessary, redirect to other doctors if the problem is not their profile.
Most likely reasons:
- Abuse of alcoholic beverages, soda, coffee and even strong tea;
- Frequent visits to the solarium or prolonged exposure to the sun;
- Eating spicy, fatty and smoked foods;
- Taking medications that cause an allergic reaction. And, in principle, the presence of allergies to other substances from the environment;
- Menopause, hormonal imbalance in the body;
- Directly the presence of pathology of the structure of capillaries;
In extreme cases, if there are certain indications, a surgical procedure is performed.
It is called a sympathectomy and lasts about 30 minutes under general anesthesia. Its essence is to block the nerve fibers with clamps that are inserted into the chest area.
This operation allows you to maintain a uniform complexion even in particularly stressful situations and when you are very ashamed.
But it is better not to use such radical methods, but to practice meditation to restore peace of mind.
Pay attention to self-esteem, trying to study your strengths and weaknesses so that it is adequate, healthy, without distortions in any direction.
And to communicate with people, after meeting with whom a good mood is maintained, and anger or resentment does not appear.
Completion
And that’s all for today, dear readers! Stay with us by subscribing to site updates. This motivates us to create more interesting, unusual and educational articles for you.
And finally, I would like to recommend that you read about other varieties of phobias. They are really rare and even amazing moments.
For example, did you know that there are people who are terribly afraid of balloons? Or do they run away in panic at the sight of a bald man? You will learn about this and much more from the heading “Phobias and Fears”.
Take care of yourself and your health, peace of mind!
The material was prepared by a psychologist, Gestalt therapist, Zhuravina Alina