gun anxiety

When I am required, or choose, to go to places that prohibit carry, I treat the situation like I would if I were armed. I assess exits, hazards, blind spots, available cover, and available makeshift weapons, and try to keep in close proximity to my advantages, and avoid the disadvantages. Situational awareness trumps all. I DO feel more uncomfortable when unarmed, but I try to channel the apprehension into awareness.

badkarmamib said:

When I am required, or choose, to go to places that prohibit carry, I treat the situation like I would if I were armed. I assess exits, hazards, blind spots, available cover, and available makeshift weapons, and try to keep in close proximity to my advantages, and avoid the disadvantages. Situational awareness trumps all.

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Makeshift weapons are something I don't tend to consciously think about when I am armed.

I carry one firearm. If it is inaccessible, or knocked away, or malfunctions, or runs dry, or I do not want to risk killing the attacker (think kid with a baseball bat), you have to make do with what is available, or assume the fetal position.

badkarmamib said:

I carry one firearm. If it is inaccessible, or knocked away, or malfunctions, or runs dry, or I do not want to risk killing the attacker (think kid with a baseball bat), you have to make do with what is available, or assume the fetal position.

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You can always carry a non lethal defensive tool for when lethal force is not necessary, not justified, or not the level of force you wish to us at that time. Pepper spray is the standard go-to here.

You can make do with your own hands and feet and elbows and other body parts, too. You don't have to use a tool as a weapon or just give up.

two gun charlie said:

would you say that when you carry pepper spray you feel just as safe as when you are carrying a gun ? because I sure don't , it's like saying give me your battle axe , here take this tiny little pocket knife instead

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It's not a one or the other thing.

They are fairly different and neither replaces the other.

I always thought that I would indeed feel less comfortable "gunless", but to be honest, I can't recall the last time, other than at work, I've been anywhere unarmed. At work (a no-carry EMS profession), I haven't felt it at all.

So, I guess I'm generally okay. I'd hate to go to the mall or something unarmed, and I still think I'd definitely feel that, but the rest of my self-protection strategies would still be in play.

I don't feel different but that is my fault because I don't carry all the time.

I have to get myself into the habit of never going unarmed.

I do carry pepper spray when firearms are prohibited. If the wind is blowing in my face when I need it at work (no carry there), I would grab the wrench laying on the table beside me to fend off the guy with a knife. I saw the wrench while I was checking for trip hazards and fire extinguishers

two gun charlie said:

@ Warp

yes but that is my question , do you feel noticeably different when you are unarmed ? do you tend to act different ?

we are looking into the psychology of people who are armed , not discussing alternatives to guns

I am saying that an armed man is more relaxed and therefore makes more sensible decisions under normal circumstances (not saying an armed man is more sensible when shot at than an unarmed man but that is not here nor there)

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I don't believe there is or would be a difference in the sensibleness or rationale of my decision making. The factors and possible actions would of course change, but that's different than a change in the ability to make a rational, sensible decision.

I generally do not feel noticeably different when unarmed. Sometimes it is actually easier to be unarmed in that I don't have to worry about printing or firearm security or anything of that nature, but if something catches my attention, doesn't seem quite right, or spurs a 'condition orange' moment then of course there is a significantly different feeling since my (by far) most efficient and effective means of defense is not present.

badkarmamib said:

I do carry pepper spray when firearms are prohibited. If the wind is blowing in my face when I need it at work (no carry there), I would grab the wrench laying on the table beside me to fend off the guy with a knife. I saw the wrench while I was checking for trip hazards and fire extinguishers

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If I was not armed with a firearm, but had pepper spray, a wrench was within arms reach, and there was an attacker with a knife, with time to choose what to do, I would hope to hit him with pepper spray from my off hand (carried on off side always) while holding the wrench as a last resort...hoping the guy with the knife is never within arms reach and really hoping I don't try to win a knife fight using a wrench. Maybe I can throw the wrench at him and toss/drop/throw something else into his path and get the hell out. (and I"d rather use a fire extinguishers if one was there, spray at the face, throw it at him, then run like hell maybe?)

I've worked in federal buildings where weapons are not allowed for a long time before I made the choice to start carrying a couple of years ago. I still can't carry at work so the firearm stays home when I leave in the morning. Curiously enough it never bothered me before but since I started carrying I do feel ill-equipped going to and from work without a firearm.

I carried a gun for 40 years as a LEO. Since retiring, I rarely carry. If I lived in a place that caused me anxiety if I didn't carry, I would move.

Of all the weapons in your toolbox, the one between your ears is the most important.

Speedo66 said:

I carried a gun for 40 years as a LEO. Since retiring, I rarely carry. If I lived in a place that caused me anxiety if I didn't carry, I would move.

Of all the weapons in your toolbox, the one between your ears is the most important.

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Are you implying that you leave your brain at home when you carry a gun?

Anxiety is commonly experienced by most people and not just with ccw. Think how most people feel if they don't have their cell phone, wallet or keys with them.

Not unusual at all, and not just because of the safety aspect, it has more to do with skipping a very important routine.

I can't carry pepper spray or a gun at work. So, I'm pretty used to not being able to carry. Ironically, they let me carry a really large pocket knife.

I do feel a little anxiety about not carrying if I feel I'm going to be in an environment where my risk level might go up for being assaulted or robbed, but I don't let it stop me from doing what I want to do. I'm blessed with a larger frame and build. It has helped deter people in the past from choosing me as a target, and if I know I need a gun to go to a certain place, then I should be avoiding that place. Thus eliminating said anxiety all together.

Originally posted by Warp:
I generally do not feel noticeably different when unarmed. Sometimes it is actually easier to be unarmed in that I don't have to worry about printing or firearm security or anything of that nature, but if something catches my attention, doesn't seem quite right, or spurs a 'condition orange' moment then of course there is a significantly different feeling since my (by far) most efficient and effective means of defense is not present.

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I concur with Warp. There are a lot of ways your well being can be at risk in a normal day (most of which don't involve criminal threats). Sometimes you can prepare for those things, sometimes you can't- life goes on, you have to make do with what you have at the time.

For me, properly dressed means always carrying a knife. On the rare occasions that I didn't I felt very uncomfortable, akin to walking around naked in public.

I frequently cannot carry. I don't feel any differently whether I'm armed or I'm not. I don't run into situations where a gun is needed (so far, ever) and don't think of my gun as my primary problem solver. If I have it with me, I have one more very last and final line of defense. If don't, my last and final line of defense is simply one step back up my list of options. It wasn't goig to save me from the auto wreck or heart attack which are FAR more likely to kill me, anyway.

As others have said, you feel anxiety because you're breaking a routine, not because you're in greater danger. If you don't feel an anxiety response when you head out on the highway or climb a ladder or go for a swim, etc, then you really needn't (logically) feel an anxiety reaction over setting your gun aside for a day.

badkarmamib said:

When I am required, or choose, to go to places that prohibit carry, I treat the situation like I would if I were armed. I assess exits, hazards, blind spots, available cover, and available makeshift weapons, and try to keep in close proximity to my advantages, and avoid the disadvantages. Situational awareness trumps all. I DO feel more uncomfortable when unarmed, but I try to channel the apprehension into awareness.

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+1. And I do think of makeshift weapons when armed. Also never without a knife of some sort.

Looking at it logically (I know) you have carried for how many years without problems? So the odds are one day without that particular option is really not that big a deal. As other have said the routine and that reassuring weight in that particular spot that is missing are what you now notice. You have to think about alternatives anyway--or at least you should---always. That is a big part of situational awareness, to me anyway. When the Federal government came out with those videos about thwarting an attacker by hiding and pushing things off a shelf or using a fire extinguisher I immediately thought WOW are people really that dumb to not know that stuff. I now understand that most of the population is still really uneducated on how to protect themselves, whether it is laziness or lack of being educated about this when growing up the results are the same. Sure seems that most do not feel the need unless something bad has happened to them already. I now feel even more thankful to my elder family members for teaching me these and many other important life skills that they did when it was important while growing up. YMMV

I am the kind of person who thinks about something strange, and then that strange thing happens. It has been all of my life. For instance, I told my wife the night they hit France, Turkey is a prime target for a problem, and Greece also, "being bankrupt". The next night Turkey has a Coup. I never go anyware without a gun. If it says no guns, I didn't see the sign, "I really don't look for signs", nor do I read everything in sight as I walk along intentionally.
My Dr., has a sign on his door, "no weapons" but he and I shoot together, I just got him a knife he wanted as a gift, and every time I go in, he asks me what I have, or if I bought anything cool. So much of this is corporate, and no one enforces it anyway. I would never carry into a "really restricted area", like an airport or Police" station, but these places that some manager put up a sign that doesn't even meet the state standard, are hogwash.
The few times I didn't carry, I did feel vulnerable after almost 45 years of carry. One time I left my gun in the car, "mag out" the Hospital chief of staff, asked me if I had my gun, I told him it was in the car, he asked me if I would mind getting it and carrying it, as there was a warning about a person of interest who was armed and the adjoining medical facility was on lockdown. I knew these guys and many of them shoot locally.
Even in Vehicles, I always announce that I am licensed to carry and if the officer cares to hold onto my gun until he is done, they never even have asked to see it.

I go to the Minneapolis VA a lot. I cant carry there or in Minnesota as I am from Wisconsin and don`t have a permit there.

I don't like to not carry, but I give it little thought because the cold hard facts say I am not likely to be involved in an incident the whole entirety of the rest of my like. Thats the cold comfort fact.