Automatic (unconscious) avoidance behaviors

[siniang]

In order to become more conscious towards potential triggers, I've been observing and dwelling a little bit on my avoidance behaviors. Though I have to admit I'm not quite sure if it's actually avoidance, or something else within the PTSD cluster of symptoms.

Some of the things I do or rather avoid doing are very clearly linked to my trauma, like never sleeping with the windows open, or sleeping with the lights on when home alone.

But I have other behaviors I've been doing like forever, which I just recently linked to my trauma and do without even thinking, for example never closing the bathroom door, particularly when showering/taking a bath, when home alone. I always just filed those under my personal idiosyncrasies.

I guess I'm wondering whether I should actually work on them, too (exposure therapy?) or just keep doing what I've been doing for decades, as they don't really cause any harm neither to me nor to someone else.

Does anyone else have automatic avoidance behaviors? If so, how do you guys deal with those?

 

[Ronin]

I go with distress stick on this one.

Does it cause distress or interfere with functioning? If no, and as you said harm was already ruled out, then no need to change it, unless you want to.

 

[Freida]

Does anyone else have automatic avoidance behaviors? If so, how do you guys deal with those?

yep. I've got dozens of those :laugh:

Dealing with them means first figuring out they are there and then asking myself what purpose they serve. Then i can sort of backtrack to figure out what part of the trauma they are attached to.

 

[VioletButterfly]

Yes, I can relate. Like @Ronin I would look at the behavior/thinking in terms of its impact on my distress level, and how it is impacting my functioning and how I live my life. If these bother you to a degree where you cannot sleep or shower, and that's shutting down your functioning and impacting your life, then spend time working through those issues and your thinking.