Posted by The Therapist on 21/1/2011, 9:31 pm, in reply to "Re: Safety Behaviours"

This is a real tricky one. While I commend the guy with the T shirt its not something I would recommend. Letting everyone know in an instant is many pauretics worst nightmare. In therapy terms this would be known as flooding. Flooding may work for some people but is extreme and has its risks. The recommended approach for treating any anxiety disorder is gradual gentle exposure to your worst fear. Just tell those close, to start with. As you realise its not such a big deal you may be able to tell a few more. As you reduce your safety behaviours you will find that you feel more comfortable talking about. Eventually you will be able to talk about it in a more casual way e.g. i used to have this problem, it occasionally shows its face but its not big deal. The whole world doesnt need to know and probably isnt interested so just tell those who you are (only midly un)comfortable telling.

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