Are You ACCIDENTALLY Making Your Anxiety Worse?

Many people unknowingly engage in behaviors they believe reduce anxiety, when in reality those actions might be making things worse. These are called safety behaviors, and they’re common in every major anxiety disorder. Whether it’s avoiding eye contact due to social anxiety, keeping medication “just in case” for panic disorder, or constantly googling rare conditions out of health anxiety, these strategies often reinforce the very fears they aim to quiet. This video explains how safety behaviors maintain anxiety by preventing you from learning that feared outcomes often don’t happen. By breaking down real-life examples across disorders like generalized anxiety disorder, OCD, PTSD, and specific phobias, it becomes clear how subtle and varied these behaviors can be. While they might feel protective in the short term, they keep anxiety going in the long run. Recognizing these patterns is a first step toward meaningful change through exposure therapy and CBT techniques. This approach doesn’t blame you for using these strategies—it makes sense to want relief from anxiety. But learning how these habits backfire can empower you to try something different and more effective. Understanding and reducing safety behaviors is a critical part of evidence-based anxiety treatment. If you’re wondering why your anxiety isn’t getting better despite all your efforts, this could be the missing piece. By identifying and addressing safety behaviors, you can begin to move toward lasting anxiety relief grounded in proven psychological science.

#Anxiety #SafetyBehaviors #CBT

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