“In the culture people talk about trauma as an event that happened a long time ago. But what trauma is, is the imprints that event has left on your mind and in your sensations… the discomfort you feel and the agitation you feel and the rage and the helplessness you feel right now.” 

― Bessel A. van der Kolk

Post-traumatic stress disorder is caused by either ongoing trauma or a singular traumatic event experienced at some point. PTSD is a complicated disease that looks different for every person who has it. Avoidance behavior is a symptom of PTSD that refers to intentionally preventing the emotions associated with trauma. While avoidance behavior provides a short-term way to decrease negative emotions, it is not a healthy coping mechanism. 

Avoidance behavior is associated with heightened  PTSD symptoms in the long run. So, while avoiding emotions might make you feel better at the time, it can make matters worse down the road. Avoidance behavior can also lead to other unhealthy coping mechanisms like substance abuse. 

Why and how avoidance behavior manifests in PTSD

A person who has PTSD may experience intense anxiety when they are confronted by something that reminds them of their trauma. Triggers can be anything reminiscent of the trauma:

• Smells
• Sounds
• People
• Situations 
• Specific places
• For some, it may be that a whole category can be a trigger, like all movie theaters. 

Triggers cause uncomfortable feelings to arise, and are often overwhelming. PTSD can be so strong that the anxiety is debilitating. Avoiding triggers altogether means avoiding many situations, places and people that could cause strong emotions. 

Avoiding these emotions causes them to be suppressed, instead of allowing them to surface. The emotions associated with trauma are considered too intense to be handled. Avoiding them appears as a perfect way to not have to deal with them.

Why avoidance behavior is harmful

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Avoiding emotions that are uncomfortable is not a healthy way to cope with them. Emotions serve important functions in relationships, including the relationship to yourself. They communicate to yourself about your surrounding environment: both internal and external. In relationships with others, emotions have a role in healthy social interactions. Because your feelings have purposes, it is important to understand and acknowledge them. 

When avoidance behavior makes a person cut off all things that could be triggering, they may find themselves isolated. The activities they feel safe doing are limited because of their need to avoid any possible uncomfortable emotions that may be triggered. Socially secluding and limiting themselves can lead to a lower quality of life.

Unsurprisingly, avoiding feeling your emotions does not just make them go away. Suppressed emotions can grow stronger, as you are giving them more power to control you when you avoid them. 

As emotions grow stronger, they may become harder to avoid. This can lead people to find other ways to avoid their feelings, like alcohol and drugs. Substance abuse is a common development of avoidance behavior. [1]

How to improve avoidance behavior

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• Acknowledge that you are using avoidance behavior. You cannot learn to cope better if you aren’t willing to admit that you are avoiding your feelings.

• Take note of your avoidance behavior patterns. Write down the details of when you notice yourself using avoidance. Analyzing the situations you avoid, and the emotions you attempt to prevent as a result, can help you overcome the avoidance behavior.

• Being aware of when you experience certain emotions can give you steps to take to stop. Writing down small steps, or goals to meet can gradually improve your avoidance behavior.

1. For example, maybe your traumatic experience is linked to a certain street. You might avoid an entire street in your town because it brings about anxiety seeing the house where you were traumatized.

2. Instead of immediately setting a goal of “walk up to the house,” set smaller goals that are buildable. Perhaps, your first goal could be to drive down the surrounding streets.

• Feel your emotions. Allow your body to feel and accept its emotions. Start out by writing about your emotions that aren’t triggered by PTSD. Describe how you feel when you are happy, when you feel safe or when you are excited. Then, work towards the uncomfortable emotions. Try to find a trusted person to share your emotions with.

Conclusion

PTSD is a mental health condition that is personal to every individual who experiences it. Although every person has different triggers and coping mechanisms, avoidance behavior is common in PTSD. Avoidance behavior has been proven to worsen PTSD symptoms long-term, and lead to other dangerous coping mechanisms. 

It is important to understand and look out for avoidance behaviors in yourself and anyone you know who has PTSD. Encourage yourself or them to learn about this aspect of the disorder, and take steps to facing and accepting their emotions. 

Additionally, we acknowledge that the situation going on in our country can be triggering for many individuals. Social media, TV news, and other platforms are currently full of pictures, videos, or words that may be triggering for anyone who has experienced racism, violence, or police brutality. We encourage you to do what feels best for you during this time of increased exposure. 

That being said, we know that there mild forms of avoidance coping that can be beneficial to people who have anxiety brought on by trauma [2]. The difference is that the healthy forms of avoidance coping do not suppress and avoid emotions. Instead, they help your body learn to control its reaction to uncomfortable emotions. Mindfulness is a great way to help your body accept and deal with emotions like stress and anxiety. Click here for an article about ways to incorporate mindfulness into your life. 

Written by Grace Haass, blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles, check out our blog page: https://safeharborim.com/articles/.