It is important to know that initially, avoidance may have started out as an efficient protective measure, perhaps even the only one available at the time. It is only when it becomes a persistent “go-to” (default) pattern that problems may arise. For example, a person avoids medical tests or treatments because they fear the results or the actual treatment; meanwhile the window of opportunity for a timely diagnosis or intervention may shrink. This is not a helpful use of denial. While an avoidant pattern may provide temporary relief, that which is avoided doesn't usually disappear, and may  give rise to further com-plications.

When we explore how a pattern of avoidance first came into being in a specific situation (e.g., perhaps during childhood, when the person had limited resources, or in the wake of a later traumatic experience) and re-process it in therapy, avoidance may no longer be as necessary. This is exactly what we attempt to achieve via psychotherapies such as EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) or SE (somatic experiencing). Once we identify such a tendency or pattern, we become curious about its root cause and current manifestations. Within the therapeutic space or “container,” we attempt to create the conditions for safely reprocessing the target memory or the template for this pattern, and in thus doing, the old pattern is aligned with new information and in this way, “updated,” leading to the creation of an additional resource. A spontaneous physical (bodily) discharge of the tension and activation associated with the original target memory that was reprocessed will follow. This discharge may involve spontaneous breathing or yawning, shaking and trem-bling, laughing or crying, or other signs of release.