MENTAL DISORDER

Maladaptive Behaviors

Maladaptive Behaviors

Maladaptive behaviors refer to types of behaviors that inhibit a person's ability to adjust to particular situations. This type of behavior is often used to reduce one's anxiety, but the result is dysfunctional and non-productive. For example, avoiding situations because you have unrealistic fears may initially reduce your anxiety, but it is non-productive in alleviating the actual problem in the long term.

There are many therapies that are used in the treatment of psychological disorders although one stands above the rest, behavioral therapy. Behavioral therapies "focus only on changing a person's specific behavior in the present day" (Nolen-Hoeksema, 2004, ...