Resolve Blushing / Erythrophobia

Channel anxiety into high performance. Make “friends” with your adrenaline.

“The Berent Method integrates technique with core work. Technique is the paradox of learning to become adrenaline friendly. Core work resolves the emotions of embarrassment, shame, and humiliation. The objective of treatment is to master the psycho-physiology of performance.”

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For anyone considering entering The Berent Treatment Program it is highly recommended starting with the self-help program “Warm Hands: Cool Face”. This is to ensure compatibility with the treatment architecture.

Blushing sufferer X committed suicide because of the emotional pain caused by his blushing. Blushing sufferer Y learned to channel his blushing energy into a high performance mind and lifestyle. Here’s the difference between the two. X’s internal critical script went something like “when you blush you are flawed as a human being”, “people will see you are nervous and a fraud”, “when you blush you should feel shame, humiliation, and embarrassment”. X’s pain led to suicide. Y learned to channel his emotions and adrenaline into empowering and proactive energy and behavior. In fact, when Y learned to accept his blushing and control his negative internal script the symptom of blushing diminished 95%. Not bad for a person who was in the doctor’s office on the verge of a sympathectomy a few years previously!

Sufferer X was Brandon Thomas, a 20 year old college student. Sufferer Y was “Tripp” who you can listen to with 3 other blushers in “Blush, Sweat, & Tears” describe their challenges and successes with erythyrophobia. Erythrophobia” is derived from the Greek “erythros” (red) and “phobos” (fear).

After the Thomas tragedy Dr. Enrique Jadresic, a Chilean psychiatrist, who was described in a MSNBC press release as the “world’s foremost expert in this area”, stated that pathological blushing is an “involuntary response” and the “only resolution is a sympathectomy”, which is an invasive procedure where nerves are cut.

The belief that blushing is totally involuntary disempowers the sufferer!

While a blush seems like an involuntary response proof that it is not can be heard in the interviews in our clinical library. What these individuals learned to do was control the psycho-physiological (mind-body) tic that drives the symptom. This tic is the reflexive action of the internal critical script which drives the internal adaptive response. Click here  to view this mind state action.

The pathological power of the negative internal script is described by “Carol” an ovarian cancer survivor who said “I’d rather be back in chemotherapy than speak in front of a group.” She describes “cancer shook me to my core. It was just me with the fight of my life vs. with blushing; its people putting judgment and expectations on me. It’s my bright red burning face larger than life for everyone to see”.

A specific concern for many blushing anxiety sufferers is the fear of being noticeably nervous. This social anxiety commonly manifests in performance scenarios; especially public speaking. Perfectionists are substantially at risk. This is because their obsessive energy puts an overload of pressure on the nervous system. This dynamic drives the blushing physiology.

Productive treatment for erythrophobia and blushing anxiety integrates technique and core work. Technique is the paradoxical process of learning to accept rather than fight the adrenaline. The adrenaline is what drives the blush. This is not an easy thing to do as the mind-body reflexbecomes substantially ingrained for the typical sufferer. It does take hard work. Listen to Karen, (link to redder I got) a film editor, who describes her feeling the energy working its way up her body; accepting it, and it didn’t reach her face.

Core work involves identifying and resolving the content in one’s “reservoir”. The “reservoir” is pertinent emotional content from one’s past. Much of this content is unconscious. Building on the therapeutic formula postulated by John Sarno M.D.,” the intensity of the emotion in the reservoir determines the necessity for physical symptoms as a diversion”. In other words the emotion is so strong that when it recycles it causes physical symptoms. This is the reason reservoir content needs to be brought to a conscious level. It is in the reservoir that one’s negative association to adrenaline and hyper-vigilance originates.

The following domains need to be integrated into productive treatment for erythrophobia and blushing anxiety. Think of FATE. (Figure 1).

For anyone considering entering The Berent Treatment Program it is highly recommended starting with the self-help program “Warm Hands: Cool Face”. This is to ensure compatibility with the treatment architecture.