Posted by The Therapist on 16/1/2011, 9:05 pm, in reply to "Re: Safety Behaviours"

The trouble with all safety behaviours is sooner or later they fail and this increases anxiety. I assume running water is not something you can always do so this too was destined to failure. The test for a safety behaviour is to ask whether it is logical. All safety behaviours are illogical when you really scrutinise them. They key to overcoming any anxiety disorder is to deal with actual cause of the anxiety and teach the brain that there is no real danger. Anything that reinforces that there is a danger (like a safety behaviour) makes it worse. In the case of pauresis it is a exaggerated fear of humilation that drives the anxiety. I have found that more people I tell the less daunting the humilation feels. When I bottled it up for decades (wife didn't even know) it was at its worst.

332