That is one thing my therapist taught me right off the bat. We develop coping mechanisms that are unhealthy but they are so familiar they start to feel "normal and safe".
When my anxiety was through the roof my coping mechanism was to pace (sometimes for 10-12 hours per day) or sit on a teeny tiny ottoman in my back hall. At the time both of those actions felt very safe and comforting to me but they were very unhealthy.
