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Safety behaviors are a common avoidance strategy used by people with social anxiety.
This article provides an overview of social anxiety safety behaviors and coping strategies to suggest to clients.
We’ve included a free downloadable safety-seeking behaviors worksheet that you can save to your electronic health record (EHR) and use in your practice.
What are social anxiety safety behaviors?
People with social anxiety disorder experience a persistent fear of social situations, along with distorted beliefs about how they're perceived by others. They may worry about being evaluated, humiliated, scrutinized, rejected, or judged by others. They may also fear specific situations like a job interview, talking to a cashier, answering questions, asking for help, using a restroom, and eating in public.
These fears cause people with social anxiety disorder to use avoidance strategies, like canceling an event and socially withdrawing. If they can’t avoid a situation, they may use safety behaviors to avoid the discomfort of social situations or to prevent a feared outcome from happening.
Examples of safety behaviors include:
Avoiding eye contact or looking at the floor
Drinking alcohol or taking drugs to manage anxiety
Dressing in neutral clothing to blend in and avoid attention
Whispering, murmuring, or talking softly
Talking excessively to avoid silence
Agreeing with others to avoid confrontation
Sitting at the back or in the corner of the room to avoid being called on
Rehearsing dialogue before an event
Talking quickly to get it out of the way
Trying not to move awkwardly
Overexplaining actions or choices
Keeping the focus of the conversation on other people
Carrying anxiety medication “just in case”
Laughing nervously to fit in with the group
Avoiding eating or drinking in front of others
Using a phone as a distraction or to appear engaged
Research shows that safety behaviors only provide temporary relief and usually keep people stuck in a cycle of anxiety because they attribute the safety behaviors to preventing their feared outcome rather than challenging the legitimacy of their fears.
How to challenge safety behaviors
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy are effective ways to treat social anxiety disorder.
A cognitive behavioral approach involves disconfirming negative beliefs and thoughts. Exposure therapy consists of facing fears through gradual exposure to social situations to learn that they are not unsafe.
Steps to overcome social anxiety safety behaviors include:
Identify the safety behavior and the feared outcome. For example, “I am anxious about making a fool of myself when I go out with friends, so I am always on my phone as a distraction.”
Test the accuracy of the thoughts through a behavior experiment:
Plan to drop a safety behavior in a social setting.
Identify evidence to confirm and disconfirm the feared outcome.
Review the evidence.
Create a more balanced perspective of social situations based on the experiment.
Continue to drop behaviors through gradual exposure and disconfirmation.
How to use the safety behaviors worksheet
You can download and use the safety behaviors worksheet in several ways:
Use the worksheet to provide psychoeducation about social anxiety safety behaviors.
Complete the worksheet collaboratively in session and give the client a copy to take home.
Ask the client to complete the reflection questions between sessions and report their progress at their next therapy appointment.
Discuss safety behaviors psychology in group therapy sessions to encourage clients to share more about their social anxiety safety behaviors with other participants.
Combine this worksheet with other CBT-related worksheets, including our CBT triangle worksheet, cognitive distortions worksheet, CBT for anxiety worksheet, and CBT thought record.
Share the worksheet with coworkers or leave copies in your office.
Use this worksheet to provide training to interns or supervisees.
Sources
Gray, E., Beierl, E. T., & Clark, D. M. (2019). Sub-types of safety behaviours and their effects on social anxiety disorder. PLOS One.
Kim E. J. (2005). The effect of the decreased safety behaviors on anxiety and negative thoughts in social phobics. Journal of Anxiety Disorders.
National Institute of Mental Health. (2025). Social Anxiety Disorder: What You Need to Know.
Sharpe, L., Todd, J., Scott, A., Gatzounis, R., Menzies, R. E., & Meulders, A. (2022). Safety behaviours or safety precautions? The role of subtle avoidance in anxiety disorders in the context of chronic physical illness. Clinical Psychology Review.
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