Emotional Avoidance 187
more accepting attitude and, thereby, alleviate your anxiety.
However, there are different strategies that you can use
depending on whether you want to take on a fear that’s
outside of you or a fear that’s within you. In chapter 3, we
presented the basics of emotional avoidance and how
exposure can help combat anxiety. In the following exer-
cises, we will incorporate techniques from the scientific
literature on emotion regulation to enhance exposure exer-
cises. Furthermore, the following practices are divided into
two groups: one to help you deal with external fears and one
for internal fears. Different strategies will be presented to
show you how to accept the uncomfortable emotions associ-
ated with external or internal fears.
Suggested Practices: External Fears
We have all heard phrases such as “face your fear” and “con-
front your anxiety.” Indeed, facing your fear or confronting
your anxiety can be pretty difficult, for a number of reasons.
In the first place, finding the motivation to approach a scary
scenario head- on can require a great deal of effort. In the
second place, there are many cases when you actually
experience the feared situation all the time but never seem
to get comfortable with it. Take social anxiety, for example.
Unless you lock yourself in your room all day, it’s nearly
impossible to avoid social encounters. They occur at the
grocery store, in class, at work, and almost anytime you walk
down a street. Social situations are indeed ubiquitous. So
why do people with social anxiety still experience dread if
they are constantly exposing themselves to them? As we