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Two examples of assessments developed to measure safety behaviors performed by people with social anxiety are the Social Behavior Questionnaire and the Subtle Avoidance Frequency Examination. [ 2 ] [ 27 ] An assessment developed to measure safety behaviors performed by people with panic disorder is the Texas Safety Maneuver Scale.
The least anxiety-provoking situations are ordered at the bottom of the hierarchy while the most anxiety-provoking situations are at the top. Exposure hierarchies typically consist of 10-15 items and will guide the client’s exposure practices. [1] An abbreviated example of an exposure hierarchy is pictured in Image 1.
Avoidance reinforces the notion that discomfort, distress and anxiety are bad, or dangerous. Sustaining avoidance often requires effort and energy. Avoidance limits one's focus at the expense of fully experiencing what is going on in the present. Avoidance may get in the way of other important, valued aspects of life.
Avoidant personality disorder (AvPD), or anxious personality disorder, is a cluster C personality disorder characterized by excessive social anxiety and inhibition, fear of intimacy (despite an intense desire for it), severe feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, and an overreliance on avoidance of feared stimuli (e.g., self-imposed social isolation) as a maladaptive coping method. [1]
Avoidance coping is measured via a self-reported questionnaire. Initially, the Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (MEAQ) was used, which is a 62-item questionnaire that assesses experiential avoidance, and thus avoidance coping, by measuring how many avoidant behaviors a person exhibits and how strongly they agree with each statement on a scale of 1–6. [1]
For example, autistic social psychologists Damian Milton and Devon Price have suggested the behavior should not be considered pathological. They view PDA as an example of individual autonomy or self-advocacy. [32] Alternative names like rational demand avoidance (RDA) [33] or pervasive drive for autonomy [34] [35] have been proposed and used.
An example of the fear-avoidance model, anxiety sensitivity stems from the fear that the symptoms of anxiety will lead to harmful social and physical effects. As a result, the individual delays the situation by avoiding any stimuli related to pain-inducing situations and activities, becoming restricted in normal daily function.
At a post-treatment follow-up four years later 90% of people retained a considerable reduction in fear, avoidance, and overall level of impairment, while 65% no longer experienced any symptoms of a specific phobia. [15] Agoraphobia and social anxiety disorder are examples of phobias that have been successfully treated by exposure therapy. [44]