Why do we overthink what to say, rehearse every line, or avoid certain moments altogether? In this episode of Just Be, therapist Sophia Spencer explores how the amygdala — your brain’s alarm system — doesn’t just cause anxious thoughts or physical symptoms, but also drives behaviour.

Through the lens of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Sophia explains the concept of safety behaviours: the subtle or overt actions we take to prevent or escape what the brain perceives as threat. From avoiding meetings, over-preparing, or seeking reassurance, these behaviours make sense in the moment — they reduce anxiety briefly — but they also teach the brain the wrong lesson: “I was only safe because I avoided.”

You’ll learn:

• The main categories of safety behaviours: avoidance, subtle avoidance, impression management, anxiety management, and reassurance-seeking.
• Why they develop and how they’re rooted in the amygdala’s survival logic.
• How repeated safety behaviours reinforce anxiety by preventing new learning.
• Why gentle exposure and compassionate retraining (rather than forcing confidence) allow the brain to update its safety settings.

Sophia connects these ideas back to the social brain: how safety behaviours protect belonging, maintain social rank, and manage perceived judgment. They aren’t flaws — they’re protective strategies that once kept you safe. The work isn’t to eliminate them, but to retrain your brain to feel safe without them — so you can stop performing safety and start just being.

🧠 Referenced Concepts

• Safety Behaviours in Anxiety: Salkovskis, P. M. (1991). The importance of behaviour in the maintenance of anxiety and panic: A cognitive account. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 19(1), 6–19.
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT): Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders. Penguin.
• Amygdala Function & Hyperactivity: Etkin, A., & Wager, T. D. (2007). Functional neuroimaging of anxiety: A meta-analysis of emotional processing in PTSD, social anxiety, and specific phobia. American Journal of Psychiatry, 164(10), 1476–1488.
• Social Rank & Safety: Gilbert, P. (2000). The relationship of shame, social anxiety and depression: The role of the evaluation of social rank. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 7(3), 174–189.
• Belongingness Hypothesis: Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497–529.