Tag Archive for Adrenaline

Blushing – The Colour Of Emotion

by  • March 6, 2013 • 0 Comments

We are all familiar with blushing because we’ve all had to deal with it at some point or another. However, most of us don’t understand the reason for it. Blushing is linked to adrenaline and cortisol which are hormones that are released when we get excited, feel pressure or are nervous. Chronic stress in our daily lives also drip these hormones into our blood streams potentially causing long term issues. Adrenaline is released in order to prepare us to either fight or run away; the “fight or fight response”. Adrenaline is tied to an increase in heart rate and breathing. The hormone also diverts blood flow from the digestive system and shunts it to major muscle groups giving them a burst of energy. As a side effect, our blood vessels that deliver blood to our faces dilate, meaning they relax or open, allowing more blood to reach the surface of our face causing them to turn red.

It is unfortunate for some that they have a condition known as “erythrophobia” which is a fear of blushing. Blushing is a reflex controlled unconsciously by our sympathetic nervous system, but in people with this condition the mere fear of blushing causes them to blush, and so they blush much more frequently with minimal stimulus. In all other people, there is a link to our emotions or our environment, we can’t just think about blushing to make it happen, so it becomes much less of an issue in our daily lives.

In most cases then, aside from those who suffer from erythrophobia, we can reliably use blushing to determine someone’s level of stress where the greater the amount of blushing, the greater the stress. For most, a small amount of reddish tint will appear on the cheeks, but before this redness appears we see it in the ears, so be sure to check there first for signs of nervousness or stress. We should be careful though because blushing only tells us that someone has received a dose of adrenaline, it never tells us why. In other words, blushing is just a cue or signal, and in and of itself, has no meaning. Creating meaning is our job.

It might seem counter-intuitive but blushing can be a good thing too and if you can control it by some miracle, you can use it to your advantage. Blushing tells us we are embarrassed so it can signal to others that we deserve some leniency. Blushing has the effect of saying “I’m sorry” without saying it, which may result in a lesser penalty, especially in women and children. If you blush easily, match your body language by using submissive postures and you’ll be more apt to get away with a misdemeanor.

Blushing can also signal that we are attracted to someone, which is obviously more advantageous to women since it makes them appear more submissive, but in men will have the opposite result as they are expected to act more dominant. Blushing, when done by women, essentially does the work for them, making their thoughts known. Men who are aware of the signal and who fancy the blusher, should seize the opportunity.

Nervous Hands

by  • March 6, 2013 • 1 Comment

Nervous hands clasp to steady.

Nervous hands clasp to steady.

A telltale clue to nervousness is when the hands begin to shake. Since the hands are designed for fine motor control, they are easily affected by a surge of adrenaline stimulated from stress from nervousness or excitement. Any stimulus, good or bad, can stimulating the muscles in the hands to fire out of control creating quivering. The limbic mind driven by fight or flight response is what causes hand shaking which makes the nonverbal cue particularly honest and predictive.

As mentioned even positive events can create shaking, such as an excellent hand in poker or seeing someone we have a deep crush on. Hands more often than not however, will quiver when bad things happen that send us into a fear response such as preparing to take the stage to present in front of an audience, being in a serious car crash or swerving to avoid one at the last minute. When in any sort of confrontation, we can also experience hand shaking. To decide what sort of stimulus, be it fear or excitement that it causing the quivering one doesn’t have to go much further than context. From there, it should be obvious why someone is shaking.

A hand-to-mouth gesture used to placate nervous hands.

A hand-to-mouth gesture used to placate nervous hands.

To disguise handshaking, some people will grasp at objects such as drinking glasses, will clasp their hands together or occupy them with “busy work.” Other times people will steady their uneasy hands by grabbing the hand of a relative, cupped them hand-in-hand at the chest, or thrust them underneath the armpits or in pockets. People who suffer from pronounced handshaking will develop elaborate ritualized gestures to keep their hands from being noticed. They will play with the arms of eye glasses, twirl pencils, or fidget with clothing. To others it will go unnoticed because they will appear as a normal part of their repertoire – their baseline.

Does he always sit on his hands or is he hiding something?

Does he always sit on his hands or is he hiding something?

Teenage girls meeting a celebrity pop singer are often seen fidgeting with their hands as they defy gravity by bouncing up and down. Their hands will often be flung sky-high and they clasp together in excitement. This is nervous energy personified and the hands show the limbic system in overdrive. Watch for this “tell” in a poker game as hands might come together underneath the table to steady each other. Hand shaking in poker, however, can be due to either fear of getting caught bluffing or the excitement good hand. In this case, it is a person’s baseline that helps predict which of the two is really happening. Hand quivering is important only when it deviates from a person’s normal repertoire of actions. For example, if hand quivering suddenly starts up or stops when discussing a particular event, we know that event is the root. It will then be our job to decide why the event caused nervousness or excitement. The same goes for any other cue, be it a new person added to a social gathering, nearing the edge of a cliff (fear of heights), being asked a question that is difficult to answer and so forth.