Carrying weapons?

Hey, does anyone feel the need to carry a large knife with them when they're outside as they fear they're going to be attacked or abused by an unknown individual? I'm on the lookout for people saying horrible things about me and I really want to lash out. I don't know if this is particularly paranoid personality disorder but I've been diagnosed with BPD with Paranoid traits.

After The Fall wrote:Hey, does anyone feel the need to carry a large knife with them when they're outside as they fear they're going to be attacked or abused by an unknown individual?

No, but I understand the mentality.

Have you ever been attacked or abused by an unknown individual outside?

Do you constantly think about it when you're outside, or do you feel safe when you carry a knife?

I'm on the lookout for people saying horrible things about me and I really want to lash out. I don't know if this is particularly paranoid personality disorder but I've been diagnosed with BPD with Paranoid traits.

I sometimes want to lash out too. I always do when someone insults or hurts me in some way. If it gets physical, I almost always retaliate with physicality.

I respect paranoid personality disorder, not sure if I have it myself, but I like the self-preserving aspects . I live in an area with a low level of violent crime and I have above average fighting ability, so in my circumstances I don't feel it's necessary to carry a weapon. In different circumstances I may decide otherwise. Bas Rutten has some famous street fighting videos on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mosX7L25HV8 which may be of interest to PPDers. I'm not looking forward to the day when I'm old and physically incapable of defending myself and must rely on the goodwill of people to not try and harm me.

I thought most people with PPD were gun nuts. Whenever I hear PPD I get a mental image of a man standing outside his house holding a gun to the air and shouting something about the "2nd amendment" and "protecting your rights"

If you're looking for something legal to use as self-defense, there's this thing called "TIW FARB"; it's basically a canister of red goo that you shoot into the attackers eyes, it's pretty much the only legal self-defense weapon in the UK. I always carry mine, and I've wrapped some black electrical tape around it so they can't tell what it actually is. Never had to deal with anyone trying to attack me in real life though, although I never go out at night anyway.

Purple 8 wrote:

After The Fall wrote:Hey, does anyone feel the need to carry a large knife with them when they're outside as they fear they're going to be attacked or abused by an unknown individual?

No, but I understand the mentality.

Have you ever been attacked or abused by an unknown individual outside?

Do you constantly think about it when you're outside, or do you feel safe when you carry a knife?

I'm on the lookout for people saying horrible things about me and I really want to lash out. I don't know if this is particularly paranoid personality disorder but I've been diagnosed with BPD with Paranoid traits.

I sometimes want to lash out too. I always do when someone insults or hurts me in some way. If it gets physical, I almost always retaliate with physicality.

That's the thing I haven't been attacked or assaulted but I'm fearful that I will be. The other weird thing is its a safe area I live in too but I spent a lot of time on the internet and you see all the $#%^ in the news and it reinforces the idea that the world just isn't a safe place.

-- Mon Nov 28, 2016 1:27 pm --

Auxiliary11 wrote:
If you're looking for something legal to use as self-defense, there's this thing called "TIW FARB"; it's basically a canister of red goo that you shoot into the attackers eyes, it's pretty much the only legal self-defense weapon in the UK. I always carry mine, and I've wrapped some black electrical tape around it so they can't tell what it actually is. Never had to deal with anyone trying to attack me in real life though, although I never go out at night anyway.

Never heard of that though it sounds pretty awesome. Hopefully you won't have to use it though!

Not sure if my reply will help the OP, but I've had this exact same feeling. In fact, preparing myself for a possible attack influences my life in many ways.

I work out daily, watch my diet, avoid drugs/alcohol, etc. all so that I feel mentally/physically sharp & capable of handling a confrontation should one arise. If I drink alcohol or do anything that makes me feel less in control of my situation, my anxiety levels begin to rise.

One thing that seems to help me is trying to catch these thoughts as they arise and dispute them with a neutralizing thought (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy). For example:

Is it possible someone could try and attack me when I leave the house? Yes.
Is it statistically likely that I will be attacked today, tomorrow, next month, next year, etc? No. We live in a very a safe society (I know this varies by location, but still).

We could spend an infinite time preparing ourselves for a theoretical attack, but no matter how prepared we are, people with paranoid tendencies will always find a way to spot vulnerabilities in our selves/situations. That's why I think spotting our cognitive errors and correcting them is the most effective way to find relief.

After The Fall wrote:Hey, does anyone feel the need to carry a large knife with them when they're outside as they fear they're going to be attacked or abused by an unknown individual? I'm on the lookout for people saying horrible things about me and I really want to lash out. I don't know if this is particularly paranoid personality disorder but I've been diagnosed with BPD with Paranoid traits.

I moved out to a rural area because I worried about crime, getting mugged and burgled etc. I used to do Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu and would carry my keys like a knuckle duster when I still lived in a city. Mind you, I'm a short woman and so it's a good idea to know some self defense skills.

Living in the country definitely helps with paranoia and there aren't many unknown people round here. Put it this way, there was an article about the 80th anniversary of a man rescuing a sheep off a cliff in the local newspaper. That's about as exciting as it gets round these parts.

I've always worried more about potential disasters and societal collapse. I would like a gun so that I could shoot deer and wild boar if the $#%^ hits the fan - and to make sure people stay the hell off my land. I keep trying to get my husband interested in getting a gun (I can't get one in this country because of my bipolar diagnosis), but he won't. He doesn't think it's worthwhile prepping either.

I don't leave my house without pepper spray. I'm afraid of dogs and other attackers.

fuge wrote:I don't leave my house without pepper spray. I'm afraid of dogs and other attackers.

I'm so glad to meet someone else who's afraid of dogs! I've got a dog phobia and can't go cycling round the forest anymore because of all the people with their big dogs off the lead. It's annoying because people aren't meant to have their dogs off the lead and there are signs saying so.

Auxiliary11 wrote:I thought most people with PPD were gun nuts. Whenever I hear PPD I get a mental image of a man standing outside his house holding a gun to the air and shouting something about the "2nd amendment" and "protecting your rights"

(I think you're being a bit tongue-in-cheek here, but...) That shows your bias, being from the UK and all. It's also a common theme among those with narcissism and especially in Europe. They like to "pretend" they are superior to America(ns). It's a great source of narcissistic supply, and one of their favorite means of doing that is by making fun of our 2nd amendment and our right to protect ourselves with guns. What's so funny about that, i'll never know. I guess they prefer to wait for the police to get there and draw the chalk outline of their dead body. The favorite saying of gun owners in America is, "When seconds count, the police are only minutes away." The police will almost never get there in time to save you; they only get there in time to write up a report about what happened and how you died...

Anyhow, not sure if I have PPD, but if so it's nothing extreme. I don't imagine that people are out to get me but I am suspicious that significant others are cheating on me and that other people don't like me, etc.

So, unrelated to PPD, I do have a gun and a license to carry it (valid in 31 of the 50 states) and I do carry it most everywhere I go. Because it's no hassle, really and I can defend myself if anyone ever tries to kill me. I am "protecting my rights." My right not to be assaulted. As a believer in the non-aggression principle I believe that no one ever has the right to assault another unless in self-defense, and I refuse to be a victim. (Though, I don't really go for the whole "i'm going to preserve my gun rights so I can fight the corrupt government." I only care about personal protection. No way are you going to defeat the government with a 9mm and a shotgun against an Apache helicopter and an Abrams tank. lol Besides, they are not going to allow you to use your guns against them - during hurricane Katrina, the police went door to door and took everyone's guns away...)

I still don't ever want to (have to) shoot anyone because even if it's self-defense the government might try to charge you. So, I always wondered, "how will I know when I can legally defend myself with a gun and not go to prison for it?" Simple. When you are more afraid of being assaulted or killed than you are of going to prison.

More to the topic of the OP... if you are that paranoid, (Since you said you want to "lash out") it's probably a bad idea to be carrying a weapon.

(The rules for being allowed to legally carry a gun to protect myself state that I cannot claim self-defense if I am the aggressor in a situation. If I start a fight or argument and then shoot someone, i'll likely be charged. This means that I have to let things slide and be the bigger person. I do not exchange insults with others or otherwise get into confrontations. I have never assaulted anyone in my life or been in a fight, and this is why I was able to pass a background check and be allowed to carry a firearm. I have no felonies, major drug offenses, assaults, domestic violence/restraining orders, nor serious mental disorder(s) and/or forced institutionalizations on my record. All of which would disqualify an individual from being allowed to possess a gun in America.)