How to Be Safe in an Unsafe World

by BLOOMFIELD, HAROLD MD

• ISBN13: 9780517397008
• ISBN10: 0517397005
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-05-11
• Publisher: Random House Value Publishing

Summary

The National Crime Survey reports that you have an 80 percent chance of experiencing at least one physical attack in your lifetime. The Figgie Report indicates that four out of five Americans "are afraid of being assaulted, robbed, raped, or murdered" and, in a 1995 survey, more than one out of three Americans reported feeling "truly desperate about rising violence." If you are afraid, you are already a victim of violent crime. InHow To Be Safe In An Unsafe World, best-selling author and eminent psychiatrist Harold H. Bloomfield, M.D., and Robert K. Cooper, Ph.D., reveal smart, accessible, and statistically proven ways to ensure personal safety in a variety of vulnerable circumstances. Based on the latest scientific research,How To Be Safe In An Unsafe Worldoffers the key to mastering safety intelligence, and shows you how to convert the anxiety you experience when feeling threatened into a perpetual state of heightened awareness, calm energy, and power. This invaluable book shows you how to best exploit a split-second pause at the beginning of every confrontation; how to transform nervous energy into strength; and how to execute two or more de-escalating vocal or physical responses that will free you from predatory harm.How To Be Safe In An Unsafe Worlddemonstrates that it only takes seven seconds for an attacker to size up a potential victim, and that by even changing the way you walk can deter the likelihood of being assaulted. Supported by the latest crime survey findings, Dr. Bloomfield reveals surprising "do's and don'ts" of personal safety that can help steer you clear of harm's way. For instance, statistics show that yelling "Help!" when confronted with danger actually discourages assistance. However, yelling words like "Fire!" will not only distract a mugger or rapist, but will attract the aid of bystanders.How To Be Safe In An Unsafe Worldalso shows you how to ask de-escalating questions (that begin with "when," not "why" or "what") that will help lower the volatility of a conflict rather than raise it. Whether you are engaged with an angry spouse, offensive coworker, mugger, or rapist, this long-overdue book provides proven safety measures to take in the most common harmful scenarios. How To Be Safe In An Unsafe Worldteaches you why the need to feel safe is even more important than the need to love and be loved. In addition, the book discusses why a constant inner sense of fear, or the resulting chronic hostility, may damage the heart, immune system, or brain, and actually end your life sooner than an assailant's bullet, bomb, or blade. With forewords by Deepak Chopra and John Gray that describe the impact of violence on themselves and their families,How To Be Safe In An Unsafe Worldprescribes a proven and practical formula for safety that you and your family can use to increase your sense of inner security and external safety from self-defeating cycles of fear and insecurity.How To Be Safe In An Unsafe Worldis a necessary book for everyone who fears for their safety in a world of increasing peril, unpredictability, and numbing incivility.

Excerpts

10 Ways To Be Safer In An Unsafe World


1. Refrain from yelling the word "Help" when being attacked and scream words like "Fire" instead. Statistics show that bystanders are less likely to lend aid when a victim yells, "Help!"


2. Avoid asking an assailant questions beginning with "what" or "why" (such as "What are you doing?" or "Why are you hurting me?"), which will only provoke more hostility. Ask questions that begin with "when" (such as "When did you become so angry?"), which will help de-escalate your assailant's anger.


3. Whether you are on the street, in a subway, or even in a car, never return a predatory stare.


4. If you are outside your car and face an armed carjacker, give up your vehicle. Never enter a car at gunpoint. Run away from your assailant in a zig-zag fashion.


5. For women: Place a few "male" props, like a baseball cap, necktie, or male basketball shoes, on the seat of your car.


6. If you have a flat tire, call 911 on your cellular phone or drive slowly to the nearest safe place and seek help, even if you ruin your tire.


7. When a conversation heats up at home, call a "time-out" and wait until tempers have cooled to rationally discuss the conflict with the other person, or to sort things out on your own. (Statistics also show that talking on a full stomach can help prevent major fights.)


8. If it appears that a break-in has occurred, or that an intruder is in your home or workplace when you arrive, do not enter.


9. Create a "safe room" (secure from break-ins) in your home and a "safe space" (through meditation) within yourself.


10. Advocate establishing more shelters for women and children. The United States currently has three times as many animal shelters as it has shelters for battered women.

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Excerpted from How to Be Safe in an Unsafe World by Harold Bloomfield
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