Checklist to Follow to Avoid Potentially Dangerous Confrontations
You are walking down a dark street at night and you sense someone walking behind you. You don't want to appear
paranoid, so you avoid turning around to face them. Is this what you should do? Or let's say that you are at your
favorite bar and a man will not stop pestering you. What do you do? When you are faced with the sudden prospect of
a potentially dangerous confrontation, you are immediately thrown into a whirlpool of decision-making. Should you
act? Should you turn away and run? What should you do? Here are some tips for how to avoid potentially dangerous
confrontations.
What to do when you are feeling paranoid
The question goes something like this: to follow or not to follow your instincts? This can also be phrased as: are
you being overly paranoid? When you are feeling paranoid, the best thing to do is to follow your own instincts. The
basic truth is that you are probably feeling paranoid for a reason, and you are probably always better off
following your instincts than trying to suppress them. Will there be times when your instincts appear to be
completely wrong and you feel silly for being so paranoid? Most certainly, yes, your instincts will sometimes be
completely off. But in the long run, you should always do what you feel most comfortable doing, even if you suspect
that you are being paranoid.
Get away, now, and as fast as you can
The best thing you can do when you are faces with a potentially dangerous confrontation is to flee as fast as you
can. This need not be a dramatic movie-type escape that leads to a high-speed chase. No, getting away as fast as
you can may simply mean that you excuse yourself from the bar and move to a different table. If you find yourself
stuck in that nightmare scenario of walking down an abandoned alleyway with a shadow on your tail, don't be afraid
of appearing paranoid, strange, and rude or whatever it may be. Go ahead and cross the street. If the shadow behind
you also crosses the street, maybe it becomes evident that you have good reason to be suspicious.
Use your cell phone to your advantage
Most of us carry and use personal cell phones with us as if our life depended on it. The thing about cell phones is
that they can actually make the difference between life or death. If you feel caught in a perilous situation, do
not be afraid to use your cell phone to your advantage. Open it up, dial and talk to someone. This display of
communication can often be enough to keep potential predators off your track. Even if you are not really talking to
someone on the cell phone, don't be afraid to whip it out and at least pretend to be talking on it.
Avoid the potentially dangerous confrontation with a little help from your friends
One of the best ways to overcome a potentially dangerous confrontation is to buddy up with a friend or a group of
friends. You are much less likely to be attacked or approached if you are traveling in a group. Enlist a group of
friends for going to bars, nightclubs, parties or other places where you think you may be susceptible to strange or
potentially dangerous encounters. If possible, you should try to come up with a signal that you and your friends
share. This secret language of signals can be used to indicate any number of things, including signals for wanting
to leave, needing assistance, or any other type of communication.
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