Blushing
Feel embarrassed
easily?
Wish you could control
it?
Blushing refers to the involuntary reddening of a person's face
due to embarrassment or emotional stress, though it has been known to come from
being lovestruck, or from some kind of romantic stimulation. It is thought that
blushing is the result of an overactive sympathetic nervous system. Severe
blushing is common in people who suffer social anxiety in which the person
experiences extreme and persistent anxiety in social and performance
situations.
Blushing
is generally distinguished, despite a close physiological relation, from
flushing, which is more intensive and extends over more of the body, and seldom
has a mental source.
If
redness persists for abnormal amounts of time after blushing, then it may be
considered an early sign of rosacea. Idiopathic craniofacial erythema is a
medical condition where a person blushes strongly with little or no provocation.
Just about any situation can bring on intense blushing and it may take one or
two minutes for the blush to disappear. Severe blushing can make it difficult
for the person to feel comfortable in either social or professional situations.
People who have social phobia are particularly prone to idiopathic craniofacial
erythema. Psychological treatments and medication can help control
blushing.
Some
people are overly sensitive to emotional stress. Given a stimulus such as
embarrassment, the person's sympathetic nervous system will cause blood vessels
to open wide, flooding the skin with blood and resulting in reddening of the
face. In some people, the ears, neck and upper chest may also blush. As well as
causing redness, blushing can sometimes make the affected area feel
hot.
Erythrophobia
is the fear of blushing, from Greek: ερυθρός, red, and Greek: φοβία, fear,
literally "fear of redness.".
The
circulatory system of the skin contains three major types of blood vessels:[1]
(Rowell. 1993; Rowell. 1974)
1.Arteries, capillaries and veins that serve
mainly nutrition needs.
2.The subcutaneous venous plexus that plays a major
role in the conduction of heat and contains a major fraction of the cutaneous
blood volume.
3.Arteriovenous anastomoses which can be found in areas of the
body especially exposed to maximal cooling like the hands, feet, nose, lips and
ears. These areas are called apical structures and are richly innervated. The
anastomoses connect cutaneous arterioles and venules directly, playing an
important role in the reduction of blood flow in a cold
environment
Physiology of
blushing
There is
evidence that the blushing region is anatomically different in structure. The
facial skin, for example, has more capillary loops per unit area and generally
more vessels per unit volume than other skin areas. In addition, blood vessels
of the cheek are wider in diameter, are nearer the surface, and visibility is
less diminished by tissue fluid. These specific characteristics of the
architecture of the facial vessels led Wilkin in an overview of possible causes
of facial flushing to the following conclusion: " increased capacity and greater
visibility can account for the limited distribution of
flushing".
Evidence for
special vasodilation mechanisms was reported by Mellander and his colleagues
(Mellander, Andersson, Afzelius, & Hellstrand. 1982). They studied buccal
segments of the human facial veins in vitro. Unlike veins from other areas of
the skin, facial veins responded with an active myogenic contraction to passive
stretch and were therefore able to develop an intrinsic basal tone. Additionally
Mellander et al. showed that the veins in this specific area were also supplied
with beta-adrenoceptors in addition to the common alpha-adrenoceptors. These
beta-adrenoceptors could exert a dilator mechanism on the above-described basal
tone of the facial cutaneous venous plexus. Mellander and his colleagues propose
that this mechanism is involved in emotional blushing. Drummond has partially
confirmed this effect by pharmacological blocking experiments (Drummond. 1997).
In a number of trials, he blocked both alpha-adrenergic receptors (with
phentolamine) and beta-adrenergic receptors (with propranolol introduced
transcutaneously by iontophoresis). Blushing was measured at the forehead using
a dual channel laser Doppler flowmeter. Subjects were undergraduate students
divided into frequent and infrequent blushers according to self-report. Their
mean age was 22.9 years, which is especially favorable for assessing blushing,
since young subjects are more likely to blush and blush more intensively. The
subjects underwent several procedures, one of which was designed to produce
blushing. Alpha-adrenergic blockade with phentolamine had no influence on the
amount of blushing in frequent or in infrequent blushers, indicating that
release of sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone does not substantially influence
blushing. This result was expected since vasoconstrictor tone in the facial area
is known to be generally low (van der Meer. 1985). Beta-adrenergic blockade with
propranolol on the other hand decreased blushing in both frequent and infrequent
blushers. However, despite complete blockade, blood flow still increased
substantially during the embarrassment and blushing inducing procedure.
Additional vasodilator mechanisms must therefore be
involved.
Psychology
of blushing
Charles
Darwin devoted Chapter 13 of his 1872 The Expression of the Emotions in Man and
Animals to complex emotional states including self-attention, shame, shyness,
modesty, and blushing. He described blushing as "... the most peculiar and most
human of all expressions."
Several
different psychological and psycho-physiological mechanisms for blushing have
been hypothesized by Crozier (2010): "An explanation that emphasises the blush’s
visibility proposes that when we feel shame we communicate our emotion to others
and in doing so we send an important signal to them. It tells them something
about us. It shows that we are ashamed or embarrassed, that we recognise that
something is out of place. It shows that we are sorry about this. It shows that
we want to put things right. To blush at innuendo is to show awareness of its
implications and to display modesty that conveys that you are not brazen or
shameless. The blush makes a particularly effective signal because it is
involuntary and uncontrollable. Of course, a blush can be unwanted [but the]
costs to the blusher on specific occasions are outweighed by the long-term
benefits of being seen as adhering to the group and by the general advantages
the blush provides: indeed the costs may enhance the signal’s perceived value."
It has
also been suggested that blushing and flushing are the visible manifestations of
the physiological rebound of the basic instinctual fight/flight mechanism, when
physical action is not possible
easily?
Wish you could control
it?
Blushing refers to the involuntary reddening of a person's face
due to embarrassment or emotional stress, though it has been known to come from
being lovestruck, or from some kind of romantic stimulation. It is thought that
blushing is the result of an overactive sympathetic nervous system. Severe
blushing is common in people who suffer social anxiety in which the person
experiences extreme and persistent anxiety in social and performance
situations.
Blushing
is generally distinguished, despite a close physiological relation, from
flushing, which is more intensive and extends over more of the body, and seldom
has a mental source.
If
redness persists for abnormal amounts of time after blushing, then it may be
considered an early sign of rosacea. Idiopathic craniofacial erythema is a
medical condition where a person blushes strongly with little or no provocation.
Just about any situation can bring on intense blushing and it may take one or
two minutes for the blush to disappear. Severe blushing can make it difficult
for the person to feel comfortable in either social or professional situations.
People who have social phobia are particularly prone to idiopathic craniofacial
erythema. Psychological treatments and medication can help control
blushing.
Some
people are overly sensitive to emotional stress. Given a stimulus such as
embarrassment, the person's sympathetic nervous system will cause blood vessels
to open wide, flooding the skin with blood and resulting in reddening of the
face. In some people, the ears, neck and upper chest may also blush. As well as
causing redness, blushing can sometimes make the affected area feel
hot.
Erythrophobia
is the fear of blushing, from Greek: ερυθρός, red, and Greek: φοβία, fear,
literally "fear of redness.".
The
circulatory system of the skin contains three major types of blood vessels:[1]
(Rowell. 1993; Rowell. 1974)
1.Arteries, capillaries and veins that serve
mainly nutrition needs.
2.The subcutaneous venous plexus that plays a major
role in the conduction of heat and contains a major fraction of the cutaneous
blood volume.
3.Arteriovenous anastomoses which can be found in areas of the
body especially exposed to maximal cooling like the hands, feet, nose, lips and
ears. These areas are called apical structures and are richly innervated. The
anastomoses connect cutaneous arterioles and venules directly, playing an
important role in the reduction of blood flow in a cold
environment
Physiology of
blushing
There is
evidence that the blushing region is anatomically different in structure. The
facial skin, for example, has more capillary loops per unit area and generally
more vessels per unit volume than other skin areas. In addition, blood vessels
of the cheek are wider in diameter, are nearer the surface, and visibility is
less diminished by tissue fluid. These specific characteristics of the
architecture of the facial vessels led Wilkin in an overview of possible causes
of facial flushing to the following conclusion: " increased capacity and greater
visibility can account for the limited distribution of
flushing".
Evidence for
special vasodilation mechanisms was reported by Mellander and his colleagues
(Mellander, Andersson, Afzelius, & Hellstrand. 1982). They studied buccal
segments of the human facial veins in vitro. Unlike veins from other areas of
the skin, facial veins responded with an active myogenic contraction to passive
stretch and were therefore able to develop an intrinsic basal tone. Additionally
Mellander et al. showed that the veins in this specific area were also supplied
with beta-adrenoceptors in addition to the common alpha-adrenoceptors. These
beta-adrenoceptors could exert a dilator mechanism on the above-described basal
tone of the facial cutaneous venous plexus. Mellander and his colleagues propose
that this mechanism is involved in emotional blushing. Drummond has partially
confirmed this effect by pharmacological blocking experiments (Drummond. 1997).
In a number of trials, he blocked both alpha-adrenergic receptors (with
phentolamine) and beta-adrenergic receptors (with propranolol introduced
transcutaneously by iontophoresis). Blushing was measured at the forehead using
a dual channel laser Doppler flowmeter. Subjects were undergraduate students
divided into frequent and infrequent blushers according to self-report. Their
mean age was 22.9 years, which is especially favorable for assessing blushing,
since young subjects are more likely to blush and blush more intensively. The
subjects underwent several procedures, one of which was designed to produce
blushing. Alpha-adrenergic blockade with phentolamine had no influence on the
amount of blushing in frequent or in infrequent blushers, indicating that
release of sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone does not substantially influence
blushing. This result was expected since vasoconstrictor tone in the facial area
is known to be generally low (van der Meer. 1985). Beta-adrenergic blockade with
propranolol on the other hand decreased blushing in both frequent and infrequent
blushers. However, despite complete blockade, blood flow still increased
substantially during the embarrassment and blushing inducing procedure.
Additional vasodilator mechanisms must therefore be
involved.
Psychology
of blushing
Charles
Darwin devoted Chapter 13 of his 1872 The Expression of the Emotions in Man and
Animals to complex emotional states including self-attention, shame, shyness,
modesty, and blushing. He described blushing as "... the most peculiar and most
human of all expressions."
Several
different psychological and psycho-physiological mechanisms for blushing have
been hypothesized by Crozier (2010): "An explanation that emphasises the blush’s
visibility proposes that when we feel shame we communicate our emotion to others
and in doing so we send an important signal to them. It tells them something
about us. It shows that we are ashamed or embarrassed, that we recognise that
something is out of place. It shows that we are sorry about this. It shows that
we want to put things right. To blush at innuendo is to show awareness of its
implications and to display modesty that conveys that you are not brazen or
shameless. The blush makes a particularly effective signal because it is
involuntary and uncontrollable. Of course, a blush can be unwanted [but the]
costs to the blusher on specific occasions are outweighed by the long-term
benefits of being seen as adhering to the group and by the general advantages
the blush provides: indeed the costs may enhance the signal’s perceived value."
It has
also been suggested that blushing and flushing are the visible manifestations of
the physiological rebound of the basic instinctual fight/flight mechanism, when
physical action is not possible
