Danger Everwhere! Paranoia or Hightened Situational Awareness?

[AirPower]

I'm still not all that comfortable carrying, but I've gotten more used to it after doing it off and on for a month. One thing I've come to realize is that now I identify much more "perceived" threats than before I started carrying. Situations where I would not consider twice, or would simply turn a blind eye and try to avoid mentally seem to be much more dangerous in my head now. Often times I would imagine what I should do if so and so did this as I arrive at different locations and encounter different individuals or groups of people. It's almost like a walking daydreaming, I would identify threats, plan strategies , ie. turn strong side, when to draw, finding tactically advantageous locations, or looking for concealable areas to stand behind, etc. Am I just being paranoid now? :banghead:

 

[Billmanweh]

Am I just being paranoid now?

you sound paranoid to me

 

[sendec]

If your state of mind bothers you, then it is paranoia.

The problem with civilian self defense is that a reasonable level of situational awareness needs to be coupled with a realistic analysis of need - Frankly, the vast majority of the U.S. is'nt really that dangerous. The vast majority of us will never be the victim of violent crime, and if we are we are likely to know the offender and have the incident grow out of a social interaction.

Danger is'nt everywhere, we live in a pretty cool place at a pretty cool time. Our main problem as aware individuals is to recognize while we are in general really safe, bad things can happen and do so at unpredictable times. Therefore we make a concious decision to be prepared. When that concious decision leads to an unconcious and unrealistic misperception we need a reality check.

Carrying should'nt make you feel miserable, uncomfortable or comfortable, it should'nt make you "feel" anything. After a while you will start to become unconciously competent at assessing risk. Your goal is to be the guy who catches things before they fall.

 

[NMshooter]

Sounds to me like you are finally attempting to develop the proper mindset. Paying attention to your surroundings is not paranoia, it is common sense. Most car accidents are caused by people who simply do not pay attention to the road they are driving on. Some refer to this as "cranial-rectal inversion". It is a common affliction, caused by an inability to deal with reality.

 

[mete]

A little paranoid. But awareness is the first and essential part of defense. Know where people are and look for things out of place [some of these things you pick up through your subconscious ]. But if you look at every person and situation as "Oh my God this is it " you're over the edge.

 

[Ryder]

I had those feelings when I first started carrying again after a long hiatus from doing it when I was younger (never had those feelings the first time though). It wears off and you will become comfortable again soon. You're just feeling self-conscious because of the newness of it.

Just an example... It's like if you were made to wear high heels (assuming you are a guy). Wouldn't that feel strange and wouldn't you suddenly find yourself taking things into account that you'd never bothered considering before? Takes some getting used to.

Plus what the others said..

 

[JohnBT]

"The rate in Richmond in 2002 was about 38.5 homicides per 100,000 residents, compared with 5.4 statewide." - this morning's Richmond Times-Dispatch

"...bad things can happen..." and frequently do around here.

John

 

[frenchwrench]

The trick is to be Aware not Scared.

 

[Art Eatman]

Once you get used to awareness and identification, you start refining situations into "possible" and "probable". You start making more of an effort to read body language and styles of movements of "those who could but most likely won't". You try to get a feel for those "probables" who change their minds from their own readings of your body language.

Art

 

[gigmike]

I still find that when carrying I'm more "aware" of people and things occuring around me. Compared to when I first started carrying I'm not as worried about it as I was. That sense that you are paranoid ought to settle down after a time. If it doesn't you can choose to leave your firearm at home and carry a different fefensive weapon. I sometimes choose to carry my Surefire Executive Defender flashlight if I'm in an environment where it would be difficult to conceal, like my office. I will feel much more comfortable and able to focus, on my job for instance, without any distractions. Other times I will not even realize I'm carrying my handgun for hours on end. Just take your time and ease into it.

 

[Andrew Rothman]

I think your mental exercises are healthy and normal. It can only be helpful to walk, mentally, through the what-if situations, and think about tactics.

Remeber when you learned to drive? You had to think constantly about what you were doing. Every press of the gas or brake, every turn of the wheel, every inch of the road.

Now, I'll bet, driving is second nature. It's not that you pay less attention -- it's just that the motions become automatic and feel more natural, and it takes a smaller part of your conscious mind to accomplish the task.

As time goes by, the same thing will happen in evaluating risk and scoping people's intentions.

I've been carrying for just over a year, and I still sometimes stop and think, "What if?"

While falling asleep the other night, I realized that I'm not nearly aware enough of where the exits are when I'm out at a store or restaurant.

I decided to imagine what would happen if there was an armed robbery at the pet megastore where I went with my daughter that day. I realized that I had no idea where the rear exit was. With the "action" likely to be taking place up front near the registers, I would be boogeying for the back, kid in tow, as fast as I could go.

That mental exercise definitely sharpened up my daily observation.

So don't worry -- the world's a pretty safe place, except when it isn't. There's no such thing as too prepared!

 

[krang]

Matt,
Excellant point about being somewhere and not knowing about exits, etc. I was at a Home Depot yesterday and realized I had no idea where their exits were. In case of fire, etc. all I knew about was the front doors. I took some extra time to walk the store and find the other points of exit. Starting doing that wherever I am now. It actually made me more aware of my surroundings.

 

[OF]

These thoughts and 'plans' are new to you at this point. That's what makes them feel so foreign. After time, alot of this 'planning' becomes habit, requiring little or no thought.

The world didn't change, you did.

- Gabe