A phobia is an extreme and irrational fear of a particular situation or behaviour. Many phobias exist in our society. Common phobias include Claustrophobia, which is the fear of heights, and Arachnophobia, which is the fear of spiders. Erythrophobia, which is the fear of blushing, is a common phobia among people who have a proclivity for blushing.

Even though Erythrophobia isn’t one of the most widely recognized phobias in our society, it is fairly common among people who exhibit problem blushing tendencies. It is common for people who are particularly sensitive to the perceptions and judgments of others to have a predisposition to blush any time they are in a situation where they feel other people are thinking about them, looking at them, or judging them.

Excessive blushing is a physical reaction triggered in response to emotional thoughts associated with being overly concerned with the reactions of other people. Not only do problem blushers blush in response to being in situations where others may pass judgment on them, they also are concerned with how they appear to others. When problem blushers become overly concerned with how they appear to other people when they are blushing, they develop Erythrophobia.

People with Erythrophobia are afraid of how they look to others when they blush. They become preoccupied with whether or not they are blushing and how their skin appears to others. Not only is this phobia irrational, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Concern about how they appear to others when blushing can actually result in increased blushing. This can be a vicious cycle for problem blushers. The stronger a person’s fear of blushing, the more likely that person is to blush even more.

To people who have never experienced problem blushing, Erythrophobia, is likely to seem silly and be very difficult to understand. However, Erythrophobia is no laughing matter. For those who suffer from Erythrophobia, it is a very real and serious concern. The tendency to blush excessively, combined with an irrational fear of blushing that triggers additional blushing, can affect every component of daily life.

It is not uncommon for people with Erythrophobia to develop additional social phobias as they seek ways to avoid blushing. They are very likely to experience feelings of hopelessness and withdraw from situations that require human interaction on any level. People who experience Erythrophobia commonly develop depression.

By raising awareness of Erythrophobia and problem blushing, the general public will hopefully become more understanding of the serious nature of this problem. As problem blushing becomes more widely understood for the serious problem that it is, people who suffer from problem blushing may be able to become less self-conscious about their problem.

It’s amazing to me that no matter how much I think I’ve done in life that there is always more to experience (and learn). And, I have also learned that life stagnates because I allow it to.

Even though we have brilliant resources inside each of us, we also may have habitual tendencies of the mind that play like endless tape loops, tendencies that cause us suffering of one kind or another. It can be a “snap” to get caught up in this play field, and begin a downward spiral into the vortex of latency, fear, and self pity. And each time it is allowed to happen, the climb out can be treacherous and exhausting.

So, why do this to ourselves? What is going on? The answer I discovered for myself may surprise you. “I was always waiting for the other shoe to drop”. And what I have since discovered (and the reality) is; “There is no such thing as the other shoe unless I choose to participate and thus create it”.

We sometimes become so accustomed to allowing our environment to “rain down” on us that every time we try to move forward we stop and wait for the “other shoe to drop”. This is not an uncommon feeling as many people remain so set in their situations that they fear what might occur if they move on with their lives.

Many of us have made that choice on a myriad of occasions inadvertently creating that “other shoe”. Think back to different experiences in your life where you were saddled with fear. Most of the time, we eventually got what it was that we desired, but there was such a struggle. The root of the “other shoe” belief is our belief that in order to get what we need, we have to struggle for it.

Many of us have a learned expectation to make things worse than they may need to be. We do this by focusing our attention, and the momentum it will build, upon what could go wrong. And the interesting thing is that the key to creating new solutions is completely dependent on where we decide to direct and focus our attention.

It’s not how “challenge free” a life can be, but how those challenges are managed that makes a life fulfilling. In other words it is about tuning into our current visual expectations and no longer allow what’s been our reality to render us powerless.

We all have habits of thought. These include things like: what we believe, what we’ve experienced and have come to believe as the only reality and the only way that things can happen.

You already know that the performance of athletes improves dramatically with the power of visualization. It’s not rocket-science. You eventually become your what you focus on.

– If you continue to smoke a lot you become a smoker.
– If you continue to drink a lot you become a drinker.
– If you only watch TV all the time you’ll be a TV “drone”.

And…if you do something constructive, positive, and tangible in your life on a consistent basis you will be…

Happy, successful (in your own unique way), and create a life you enjoy living!

“What if Beethoven had never played again after he encountered his first piano?” and “What if I had never decided to move to Philadelphia after college, and instead moved back to my hometown because this is what felt comfortable. It isn’t however just the big things that we need to encounter and experiment with but the little details are equally important; things like finding the “perfect” pair of sandals or how many hours of sleep is just right for us.

How easily we can assume that we are just a particular way or that we are sentenced to live a certain way forgetting that we can shuffle the deck, juggle the balls, or switch horses mid-course. How often do we give up on ourselves (or another human being) assuming we have tried “everything” when the next combination or new possibility is just waiting for us to notice it?

Our “habits” can ensnare us in a straitjacket of comfort, reassuring us that we know what we like, and/or we know who we are. It isn’t that we just need to “stay open” or “try new things”. It is much more critical than that. We have an instinctive desire to keep discovering until the day we die all the possible ways to do and to be.

So, instead of waiting or worrying that there will be nothing at the “end of the rainbow”, start making plans for your next dream so that you can achieve the life you desire. Don’t just hang around in hopes that something better will come along, go out and find that something better, and take it!

Life is an enormous pu-pu platter, a giant offering of possibilities, and it is up to us to keep sampling the delicious tidbits until we find the ones that make us dance on the table with satisfaction and exultation.

With more emphasis being put on the state of our global environment these days, do you ever stop to assess your local environment? Your home, neighborhood, office, or your regular grocery store… Each one has it’s own “environment” made up of the air circulating throughout, the chemicals and materials that went into building and cleaning them, and even the people and energy the fill each area. All of these considerations go into making where we live and work a healthy or non-healthy environment. Often we spend so much time in these places that we overlook big issues that contribute to our health and well-being when we should be extra diligent in recognizing the harmful components and replacing them with better choices. Doing so qualifies as stress reduction when you really think about it. You are choosing to reduce the stress these things have on your body and mind.

One of the most powerful ways to reduce the stresses of your daily environment is called Quantum Biofeedback. When used along with a general awareness of the places you go each day and the things you expose yourself to, Quantum Biofeedback is a safe, easy way to balance the effects of your environment. Certain elements of your local environment may, to some extent, be out of your control like electrical fields and air pollution and some may have already taken a toll on you causing illnesses, aches, pains, or unexplainable issues. Why not take the steps now to not only reduce your exposure to these harmful stressors, but also clear your body of the effects of years and years of living side-by-side with them by having a Biofeedback session?

Quantum Biofeedback is a technologically advanced interface born out of traditional biofeedback that can administer therapy to reduce multiple kinds of stress, environmental being only one. Quantum Biofeedback uses a highly sophisticated device called the SCIO/EPFX to read the body’s physiological reaction at the subconscious level to the frequencies of over 9000 different items like natural remedies, organs, and environmental stresses. This safe, non-invasive process takes place at the office of a Certified Biofeedback Specialist. The client is “linked” to the SCIO/EPFX by way of a safe, comfortable headband and a chair pad that rests where the client is seated for the duration of the session. After the “testing” phase is over, the SCIO/EPFX returns the findings to the Specialist who then acts as an analyst and coach informing the client of their current stressors so that they can take steps to reduce them. Because the SCIO/EPFX is communicating with the subconscious mind, the effect of the therapy can be very deep and incredibly powerful. If you are ready to find out more about what a SCIO/EPFX can do for you, contact a Certified Biofeedback Specialist today for a Quantum Biofeedback session.