Help people recognise the small precautions and subtle avoidance habits that can keep anxiety going, even when they are managing to face feared situations. This printable anxiety information sheet explains safety behaviours in clear CBT language, with examples linked to social anxiety, health anxiety, public transport worries and fear of embarrassment.
This Safety Behaviours Anxiety Information Sheet PDF download is a concise, printable CBT handout that helps explain how well-meant coping strategies can accidentally keep anxiety in place. It describes safety behaviours as actions people use to feel safer or prevent a feared outcome, then shows why the intention behind the action is important. Examples include staying quiet in social situations, avoiding touching shared surfaces, carrying a water bottle everywhere, or wearing headphones on public transport.
The resource is suitable for adults and older teenagers exploring anxiety, panic, social anxiety, health anxiety, phobias or avoidance. Practitioners can use it during CBT sessions, counselling appointments, psychoeducation, exposure planning or between-session homework. It may also be helpful for guided self-help, wellbeing support, or home learning where someone wants to understand patterns that make fear feel harder to challenge.
Use the sheet to prompt discussion about what a behaviour is trying to prevent, what might happen if it were reduced, and how to test anxious predictions safely and gradually. It can support work on self-focused attention, reassurance seeking, exposure practice and recognising self-fulfilling prophecies. Download and print the PDF as a straightforward worksheet or client handout for anxiety support. Produced by the Centre for Clinical Interventions.
