Empowerment Through Personal Safety

A gazelle can graze within 10 to 20 yards of a sleeping/resting lion quite safely. If there is good grass to graze on, it will move to that patch, despite being in such close proximity to its number one predator. It is empowered to do so, because it understands the reality of the potential threats and dangers it faces, and what each one actually looks like; a sleeping/resting lion is not a danger. When we think about situational awareness, we immediately think of our ability to identify those individuals in our environment who have harmful intent towards us, and forget that good situational awareness will allow us to avoid becoming adrenalized and fearful, at individuals, actions and behaviors which pose no danger to us; like the gazelle with the sleeping lion i.e. it can graze in a perfectly relaxed state.

When are fear system kicks in, and we become adrenalized, there is a cost; adrenaline raises both our heart rate, and our blood pressure. Our fear system also triggers a release of cortisol, which affects our immune system, and alters our digestive processes. If we are constantly finding ourselves reacting to actions and behaviors, which are by their very nature non-harmful, but that we interpret as signaling danger, we are not only going to find ourselves in a constant state of anxiety (which is not good for our mental health), we are also going to experience long-term health risks, such as digestive problems, heart issues, weight gain etc. Understanding what isn’t a threat, is as important as recognizing what is.

Oftentimes, people don’t want to consider personal safety and security, as they see it as adding restrictions to their lives; that they can’t do certain things they enjoy, because there is a risk of danger. Sometimes they will even disregard their own personal safety completely, and make the case to themselves (and possibly others), that it is the assailant who is to blame for an assault, so they shouldn’t have to think about their safety – why should they alter the way they live their life, just because someone else isn’t able to control their violent and/or sexual urges? That isn’t fair. But having an understanding of what is safe and not safe, and a realistic view of what violence is and when and where it occurs etc. is liberating.

If you were suddenly dropped in the Serengeti, next to the gazelle, you would have every right to be terrified; you are in an environment you don’t understand – and your first thoughts would probably be concerning your personal safety, which would be understandable. You don’t understand lions, like the gazelle does. You don’t really know and/or understand the difference between a lion that is about to hunt, and one that is resting etc. You probably wouldn’t be able to give much mental bandwidth, to appreciating the scenery, and the diverse display of flora and fauna because you’d basically be scared out of your wits, with every movement, and noise causing you to jump and flinch etc. However if you spent a few years, researching the behaviors of the different animals you might encounter, and watching them with someone who had experience of living and interacting in such an environment, you’d be a lot less jumpy, and you’d be able to ignore and discount certain actions and behaviors of the different animals you’d encounter, and make responses which would keep you safe etc. Your experience would be a positive and benefical on, rather than a restrictive and debilitating one.

The problem is, most of us don’t really try to understand the environment we live in, because by and large it is a safe one – we are not as likely to be killed as the gazelle is – and so we don’t need to be as aware of our surroundings, as an animal living in such close proximity to its predators. Unfortunately there are human predators, who live and operate alongside us, and want to cause us harm, and those who we assume to be predators due to media depictions and our overactive imaginations etc. By gaining a proper understanding of what danger looks like, we can truly enjoy life to its full, when danger isn’t present and disengage ourselves from it when it is, just like the gazelle.