One man's battle to overcome social anxiety

'Deeply moving and informative' – Lily Bailey, author

Your face turns crimson. Your throat tightens. Your mind races. And suddenly a simple conversation — ordering a coffee, joining a meeting, speaking up in class, or talking to someone you like — feels like standing on a stage. If you live with chronic blushing, facial flushing, or the relentless fear of being seen, Red Face by Russell Norris is the book you’ve been searching for.

Red Face: How I Learnt to Live With Social Anxiety is elegant, unflinching narrative non-fiction: a true story that reads with the momentum of a memoir and the usefulness of a self-help guide. Norris grew up with a tendency to blush, but in adulthood it escalated into idiopathic craniofacial erythema — uncontrollable and often unprovoked facial blushing. What others dismissed as “just blushing” sent out all the wrong signals, invited unwanted comments, and triggered something far more consuming: Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD).

He tried everything people recommend when they don’t understand: quick fixes, distraction, self-medication, avoidance, the forced smile, the laugh-it-off. Some of it dulled the symptoms for a moment. Much of it made the shame louder. Red Face tells the truth about that spiral — how anxiety feeds on anticipation, self-monitoring, embarrassment, and the fear of blushing itself (often called erythrophobia). It also tells the other truth: the cycle can be interrupted, and a rich, connected life is possible.

This is not a glossy “just be confident” pep talk. It’s an honest account of what severe social anxiety can look like from the inside: the private rules, the coping strategies that seem to help in the moment, and the heavy cost they exact over time. And because life doesn’t pause for anxiety, Norris shows how he kept moving forward —building a career as a writer, working in London’s advertising world, and learning how to show up even when his body screamed “danger.”

By turns wry and shocking, dark and optimistic, Norris invites you into the hidden mechanics of social anxiety —avoidance, compensation, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and the exhausting effort to appear “normal.” Alongside the story you’ll find stigma-breaking, myth-busting insight into social phobia and anxiety symptoms, why well-meaning reassurance rarely helps, and why recovery often begins with a different relationship to discomfort.

In these pages you’ll discover:

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  What chronic blushing and social anxiety can look like in real life—at school, university, in dating, in friendships, and at work
  
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  Why the fear of judgement becomes a habit of self-erasure, and how to stop living for other people’s reactions
  
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  How avoidance, overthinking, and “safety behaviours” keep anxiety in power (and how to loosen their grip)
  
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  Language you can use to explain SAD, shyness, introversion, and high sensitivity to partners, friends, family, and colleagues
  
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  A compassionate, grounded way forward — built from lived experience, not empty slogans
  

Red Face is ideal for readers searching for books on social anxiety disorder, social anxiety recovery, anxiety and self-esteem, mental health, fear of blushing, workplace anxiety and confidence building. It’s also a valuable resource for therapists, coaches, educators, and loved ones who want to understand the hidden cost of “looking fine” while silently struggling.

This book does not replace professional support, but it can help you feel understood, less alone, and more hopeful. If you’re ready for writing that is honest, intelligent, and quietly life-changing, open Red Face. Step through the door. Order today and start learning how to live with social anxiety — without letting it decide the shape of your life.

Reviews

'Immersive and raw in its emotional intensity, Norris's Red Face invites us into his private world of avoidance, compensation and adaptation. Ultimately culminating in a deep awareness of himself and the world he moves through, it's empowering and cathartic for everyone who has experienced SAD.' – Dr Tracy Cooper, International Consultant on High Sensitivity

'Deeply moving and informative. I raced through it. Norris's portrayal of the cyclical struggle of Social Anxiety Disorder is stunning. This book is the perfect response to anyone who's ever said, "don't we all get anxious about socialising?"' – Lily Bailey, Because We Are Bad: OCD and a Girl Lost in Thought

Extract

Chapter 1: Closed Door

I’m hovering just in front of a closed door. It’s in the office building where I work. I can see through the window of the door into the room beyond it. I’m listening carefully for approaching voices. As soon as another person comes into view, I’ll have to make a snap decision: commit and go through that door or abort and quickly walk away from it, surreptitiously double back at some point, then try to hold my nerve for a second attempt. I’ve been doing this in secret for my entire career and if I could calculate exactly how much time I’ve lost in this state of limbo, all the seconds, minutes and hours spent holding back in hallways or pacing back and forth just behind closed doors, it might add up to a lifetime. And a waste of one.

Because there’s nothing out of the ordinary on the other side of those doors.... meeting rooms, breakout spaces, team and coffee points, just spaces designed to help people work together. But people is the key word. On the other side of every door there will be people. People I know. People who know me. People I’m about to meet. People who’ve yet to meet me. And once I’m on the other side there’s no turning back.

...

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is formally classed as a mental disorder, which affects millions of people worldwide – and up to 10% of the UK population. It can manifest itself in many ways. Symptoms often surface as secondary phobias, ranging from a fear of eating or writing in front of others to a fear of being watched in a public bathroom. For me, social anxiety plays out on my skin... Its symptom is called Idiopathic Craniofacial Erythema, which means uncontrollable and unprovoked facial blushing. They are the evil twins who constantly embarrass me.

If you have social anxiety, this book is for you.

If you’ve never heard of social anxiety, this book is for you.

I’ve been quietly avoiding people all my life, hesitating behind a door. But I’m pushing that door wide open now. And I’m coming through it.

To talk to you.

Order now and start reading