Maintaining Your Improvements and Planning for the Future
235Nevertheless, there are a number of different reasons why fear may return for some 
individuals. If your fear returns, the best thing to do is to resume using the strategies 
that were most helpful to you the ﬁrst time you overcame your fear. Social anxiety that 
comes back sometime after a period of improvement may even be easier to overcome 
the second time around.
Discontinuing the Treatment Strategies Too Early  
or Too Quickly
Discontinuing your cognitive therapy and exposure practices may increase the like -
lihood of experiencing a return of fear, particularly if you stop using these techniques 
before you have completely overcome your anxiety. We recommend that you continue 
to challenge your anxiety-provoking thoughts from time to time for as long as you con -
tinue to feel anxious. When your fear has decreased signiﬁcantly, you can stop using 
the cognitive diaries. However, you should continue to use the cognitive techniques 
informally, by silently asking yourself appropriate questions (for example, “Is there some 
other, nonanxious way of interpreting this situation?”).
In addition, you should take advantage of opportunities to expose yourself to previ -
ously feared situations even after your fear has been reduced. Sometimes life circum -
stances (such as being busy at work or school, or recovering from the ﬂu) make it hard 
to practice exposure on a regular basis. Whenever possible, continue to confront your 
feared situations from time to time. Occasional exposures should help to prevent your 
fear from returning.
Stopping medication too early may also increase the risk of your anxiety returning. 
As discussed in chapter 5, relapse following discontinuation from treatment with antide -