How to stop facial flushing from anxiety

I get facial and neck flushing when anxious which makes me avoid stressful situations. But the more i avoid them the more frequent the blushing episodes. I want to learn tools to understand and accept my blushing.
Asked by Paul
Answered
12/17/2022

Thank you for your question, it sounds like this has been a worry for you for some time and I am sorry to hear that.

Firstly, it is common for many people to have facial flushing so you are not alone. What causes it is can be down to several things, feeling anxious, stressed or overheating or sometimes a medical condition.

You have said you feel it is when you get anxious in stressful situations. Knowing what these situations are and what makes you anxious about them would be helpful to you. Working through these things with a therapist could help you feel less anxious and naturally, the facial flushes will start to subside. 

Of course, avoiding the situations as you have said, only makes it worse. You can visit your GP and discuss medication, some can help with this and your GP will check if it is anything physical.

However usually the best way to help you overcome this is to engage in some Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). CBT can help you to address your anxiety at the root cause and provide techniques and coping mechanisms to deal with stressful situations. To the ultimate goal where you overcome them completely. So you will be able to not feel anxious in stressful situations and therefore not have facial flushing, as your body will not go to your usual response to that situation as you have changed how you feel about it. I hope that makes sense.

In the meantime, some small steps you can try on your own, are breathing exercises before the stressful situation, mantras such as "I can do this and I will be ok" and wearing cooler clothing so you do not feel too hot in the situation.

Visit the groupinars and groups on BetterHelp for help and support from others who have been in similar situations to you and of course, you can book 1-2-1 CBT therapy with a BetterHelp Therapist to get you through this challenging time and reach your goal of being able to be in those stressful situations, not feel anxious and not experience facial flushing. 

Good luck from all at BetterHelp, we are right here beside you, every step of the way.