RedGirl
New member
Hi everyone,
I've had facial blushing for almost 10 years now, with the last year and half being completely unbearable. However, now I'm at a point where I rarely blush, so I wanted to share my story with you.
About 10 years ago I had my first blushing episode when the CEO of my company asked me a question that I wasn't prepared to answer. From that point on, whenever I would talk with him I would blush. I left the job a few months later (for unrelated reasons) and didn't blush again for nearly 7 years. About two years ago it started again - this time at a new job when a senior manager asked me a question. For some reason, that triggered my blushing and I began to blush all the time: at first just at work around managers, then with peers, then with complete strangers such as the clerk at the grocery store! When it started happening around friends and family I decided to get help.
My family doctor prescribed 20mg Paxil and referred me to a psychologist. To allow my brain to adjust, my doctor recommended that I only take 10mg of Paxil a day at first, but I quickly found out that body could only handle 5mg/day, which I've been on for the last year. When taking the Paxil, I don't blush, but can still feel the warm rush as if I were blushing. I was in therapy for just over a year, and learned that I had a social phobia that was triggered by people who are unpredictable (i.e. Jekyll & Hyde types). Although I learned a lot in therapy, it never cured my blushing so I quit. A few weeks later I went to one hypnotherapy session. She discovered that my first blushing episode was because the CEO was a Jekyll & Hyde and it triggered my fight-or-flight response, which manifested itself as blushing. The senior manager at my new job is also a Jekyll & Hyde type, and I began to associate him with blushing, then work with blushing, and so on, and so on. After I made that connection, I immediately stopped blushing.
I dropped my Paxil intake to just 2.5mg/day and I haven't blushed in over a month (knock on wood). I truly feel that the combination of Paxil, therapy and hypnotherapy is what worked. I plan on staying on the Paxil for a bit longer as it is a security blanket, but my doctor told me that at 2.5mg/day, it does not have any real effect.
Please don't give up. There is hope, if you open yourself up to therapy. I didn't believe that my blushing was due to psychological issues, but I now I know it was.
For anyone who wants a "quick fix", try Paxil. For a long-term cure, try Paxil and therapy.
I hope this helps.
I've had facial blushing for almost 10 years now, with the last year and half being completely unbearable. However, now I'm at a point where I rarely blush, so I wanted to share my story with you.
About 10 years ago I had my first blushing episode when the CEO of my company asked me a question that I wasn't prepared to answer. From that point on, whenever I would talk with him I would blush. I left the job a few months later (for unrelated reasons) and didn't blush again for nearly 7 years. About two years ago it started again - this time at a new job when a senior manager asked me a question. For some reason, that triggered my blushing and I began to blush all the time: at first just at work around managers, then with peers, then with complete strangers such as the clerk at the grocery store! When it started happening around friends and family I decided to get help.
My family doctor prescribed 20mg Paxil and referred me to a psychologist. To allow my brain to adjust, my doctor recommended that I only take 10mg of Paxil a day at first, but I quickly found out that body could only handle 5mg/day, which I've been on for the last year. When taking the Paxil, I don't blush, but can still feel the warm rush as if I were blushing. I was in therapy for just over a year, and learned that I had a social phobia that was triggered by people who are unpredictable (i.e. Jekyll & Hyde types). Although I learned a lot in therapy, it never cured my blushing so I quit. A few weeks later I went to one hypnotherapy session. She discovered that my first blushing episode was because the CEO was a Jekyll & Hyde and it triggered my fight-or-flight response, which manifested itself as blushing. The senior manager at my new job is also a Jekyll & Hyde type, and I began to associate him with blushing, then work with blushing, and so on, and so on. After I made that connection, I immediately stopped blushing.
I dropped my Paxil intake to just 2.5mg/day and I haven't blushed in over a month (knock on wood). I truly feel that the combination of Paxil, therapy and hypnotherapy is what worked. I plan on staying on the Paxil for a bit longer as it is a security blanket, but my doctor told me that at 2.5mg/day, it does not have any real effect.
Please don't give up. There is hope, if you open yourself up to therapy. I didn't believe that my blushing was due to psychological issues, but I now I know it was.
For anyone who wants a "quick fix", try Paxil. For a long-term cure, try Paxil and therapy.
I hope this helps.