Confronting Your Fears Through Exposure
147Excessive checking and reassurance seeking. Excessive checking involves spending too 
much time and effort trying to ﬁnd out whether you are perceived by others in a positive 
light. We all engage in occasional checking (for example, looking in the mirror at a party, 
asking a coworker whether she enjoyed your presentation). In fact, we recommend that 
you occasionally continue to check on other people’s reactions to you and your actions. 
Checking and receiving reassurance are helpful ways of testing out your beliefs. However, 
if you ask for reassurance or check too frequently, this may be a behavior you want to 
decrease. The key is moderation. Occasional checking is helpful, but constant checking 
can be a problem. Constantly obtaining reassurance about your performance is like con -
stantly checking with your doctor whenever you experience an unusual sensation. Never 
going to the doctor may cause you serious health problems that might otherwise have 
been detected early or prevented. But going to the doctor several times a week to check 
out every ache and pain can backﬁre; your doctor may stop taking your concerns and 
complaints seriously. Constant requests for reassurance can also backﬁre, having the exact 
effect that you are trying to avoid—namely a negative response from others.
Substance use. Substance use can undermine the effects of exposure by artiﬁcially low -
ering your level of fear in social and performance situations. For exposure to be effec -
tive, it’s important for you to experience some degree of fear. It is also important for 
you to learn that your fear will usually decrease naturally if you stay in the situation. 
Drinking alcohol or using other drugs whenever you are in a situation that makes you