"Andy Austin is an intelligent and entertaining trainer. He demonstrates high standards regarding working with clients and more importantly, he trains you to become aware of yourself as the clinician/coach in all types of situations. His material is very useful for individuals who want to increase their therapeutic skills. He cleverly leads students to find the answers within and then offers new ideas to challenge their learning even more. I have enjoyed my experiences learning from Andy and I recommend him as a trainer."

Rachel Hott, Ph.D. Co-director The NLP Center of NY

Blushing

Do you wonder why or how people blush? Blushing is an involuntary reddening of the face when stressed or embarrassed. Many people will also blush when they are angry.

Blushing or extreme blushing can be affecting you physically and emotionally. Blushing is cute when you are four or five years old. However, how do you dismiss or get rid of an involuntary action?

Physically blushing is your central nervous system, involuntarily reacting to embarrassment, stress or anger. Intense blushing can happen to those that are typically experiencing persistent or extreme anxiety when they have to be in social situations or public speaking or performing. The anxiety or fear is overwhelming to them and the body involuntarily reacts to this by extreme cases of flushing. For some even a casual conversation with someone they know can cause stress and blushing.

Similar to those that stutter, once the involuntary reaction begins, it cannot be stopped. It sets itself into a savage cycle. The reddening of the face, sometimes extending into the neck, begins and takes several minutes to diminish. However, if the conversation continues or the public speaking continues the cycle will begin again because the stress hasn’t stopped. The person or audience you are speaking to is reacting to your blushing and you react to their reaction.

There are consequences to this involuntary response. You can ruin your presentation or even your career because of something that may be beyond your control. Imagine you have written the perfect speech or presentation for a meeting and unfortunately you have a condition of extreme blushing. Your presentation is flawless, well put together and interesting. However, from the minute you step before the audience you are speaking to until you sit down, you blush. Over and over again as the cycle of blushing continues, you become uncomfortable and instead of focusing on your presentation, the audience can be caught up in your appearance and they begin to feel uncomfortable for you.

Not only is your face red there are also other symptoms that can go along with your red or blotchy face and neck. You generally feel a sense of heat to the face and neck, overwhelming feelings of embarrassment, nervousness and stress and you will begin to identify what causes you to blush and avoid these situations.

Imagine that your life may be controlled by avoiding factors that cause you stress or embarrassment. These situations may be real or imagined. You avoid situations that you know will cause you stress and embarrassment and those that may cause you stress and embarrassment.

Angry blushing may be a little more easier to control because anger is not an emotion that can be easily triggered. In addition, anger in a social situation is rare. However, if your blushing is tied to anxiety that can occur for nearly any situation you may find yourself crippled if you don’t seek assistance when it is affecting your life.