“If I can distract myself by playing on my phone, then I can make it through a panic attack.”

“When I drink enough alcohol, I can get on a plane.”

“I have to turn up the radio and crank the A/C any time I hit traffic.”

“There’s no way I can sit through class unless I do a bunch of deep breathing.”

Here at the OC Anxiety Center we hear these comments very often. We categorize these actions as “safety behaviors”: behaviors that people engage in to feel less anxious in a “dangerous” situation.

Ironically, by engaging in safety behaviors, we reinforce the concept that the situation is dangerous or bad (“why else would I have to deep breath unless I might pass out?”). Instead, if we move despite how we feel (“I’m scared, but I know it’s safe, so I’m going to drive without the radio on”) we start to learn something new: I can do things despite how I feel.

Another way to look at this issue (which we’ll explore more in the next blog) is, “Does my safety behavior decrease my anxiety, or actually make me safer?”