Avoidance

In the context of anxiety and PTSD, avoidance refers to behaviours aimed at preventing contact with people, places, situations, activities, or thoughts that cause distress because they are associated with a traumatic event or feared outcome. While avoidance provides short-term relief, it reinforces anxiety in the long term by preventing the person from learning that the feared situation can be tolerated. For cardiac arrest survivors and ICD patients, avoidance may include not exercising, not going to places associated with the arrest, avoiding medical appointments, or not discussing the event. For co-survivors, it may involve avoiding the place where the arrest happened. Addressing avoidance is a central component of CBT and other evidence-based psychological treatments.