Why Safety Behaviours Keep Panic Going

Chris Zhang
3 minutes ago
3 min read

If you experience panic attacks, you’ve likely developed small habits that help you feel safer.

You might carry water everywhere. Sit near exits. Keep medication in your bag “just in case.”Avoid caffeine. Bring someone with you.Distract yourself constantly.

These strategies make sense. Panic feels intense and frightening. Of course you would want to prevent it.

The problem is not the behaviour itself. It’s what the behaviour teaches your brain.

What Are Safety Behaviours?

Safety behaviours are actions taken to prevent a feared outcome.

They often sound like this:

“If I don’t bring this, I won’t cope.”
“If I can’t leave, I’ll lose control.”
“If my heart races, something bad will happen.”

The key question is not what you’re doing — it’s why you’re doing it.

If the purpose of the behaviour is to stop anxiety, prevent panic, or protect yourself from a feared outcome, it’s likely a safety behaviour.

Why Safety Behaviours Are a Problem

Safety behaviours reduce anxiety in the short term.

But long term, they maintain panic.

Here’s how:

1. You Don’t Fully Test Your Fears

Even if you face a feared situation, relying on safety behaviours prevents you from discovering what would happen without them.

If nothing bad happens, your brain may credit the safety behaviour — not your ability to cope.

2. You Become More Dependent on Them

Over time, you may feel more anxious without these behaviours. What started as optional becomes necessary.

3. Your Attention Turns Inward

Monitoring symptoms. Watching for exits. Checking your body. This self-focused attention increases anxiety and makes normal sensations feel threatening.

4. They Can Backfire

Trying to prevent panic can increase awareness of small physical sensations. This heightened monitoring can actually trigger the very anxiety you were trying to avoid.

5. You Don’t Build Tolerance

When you block anxiety every time it shows up, you never learn that you can tolerate it — and that it naturally passes.

Dropping Safety Behaviours (Step by Step)

Letting go of safety behaviours can feel uncomfortable at first. Anxiety may rise temporarily.

That doesn’t mean you’re doing it wrong.

It means your brain is learning something new.

There are two approaches:

Drop them all at once (most efficient)
Gradually phase them out (more manageable for some)

You might start by:

Leaving the water bottle behind once
Sitting away from the exit
Driving without distraction
Going somewhere alone

The goal is not to feel calm.

The goal is to discover: “I can handle this without extra protection.”

Combining This With Behavioural Experiments

If you are already practising behavioural experiments, dropping safety behaviours strengthens the learning.

Instead of: “I survived because I had backup.”

The new learning becomes: “I survived because I can cope.”

That distinction is powerful.

Over time:

Anxiety peaks lower
Confidence grows
Panic becomes less frequent

Evaluating Your Progress

Progress is not about never feeling anxious again.

It’s about:

Reduced reliance on safety behaviours
Increased confidence in handling anxiety
More freedom in daily life

You may still feel anxious sometimes. That’s normal. The difference is that anxiety no longer controls your decisions.

When Support Helps

Dropping safety behaviours can feel challenging to do alone. Therapy provides structure, guidance, and accountability while you gradually test fears and reduce reliance on protective habits.

For individuals seeking panic and anxiety therapy in Markham, cognitive-behavioural approaches can help break the cycle of fear and rebuild confidence step by step.

Reference

Centre for Clinical Interventions (CCI). When Panic Attacks – Module 6: Dropping Safety Behaviours. Government of Western Australia.