[P95Carry]

I am lucky to not have too much stress in my day - work at times is deadline stuff and a bit stressful but generally, no big deal.

I was talking at shooting club this evening with a guy who is very stressed - work, marriage, finances - all the nasty things. He was commenting on - and wondering - whether his high stress state might affect his carry judgement. I will add, this guy is level headed and a carry person I would say is right on for responsibility etc - but he was perhaps (usefully) appraising his own abilities.

Know what - I really could not decide for sure. I guess if we are very ''wound up'' then just maybe our patience level is compromized and so - would we over react - act instead of escape?

I can tho imagine someone very stressed out, being less than tolerant of an ''approach'' - and perhaps acting before he should. Maybe he needs to rethink his stance in light of extant conditions.

I don't know so - just throwing it out for consideration. :smile:

 

[Chad]

Much is made...rightly so...of 'situational awareness'.
That should naturally include awareness of our personal situation/condition.

As a responsible armed person, I hope I would be able to recognize how stress might influence my judgement, and act accordingly.

 

[rocky]

If I get really mad, I will put the gun away. Doesn't happen often, but better safe than sorry.

 

[Betty]

My uncle, dad and brother all got their carry permits together. My uncle was the one who chose not to carry because he said he thought he would be tempted to use it. He then tried to get me to write an article on the benefits of choosing not to carry even when you have a permit. He persists in projecting his perceived inability to control his violence onto everyone else. His decision to not carry is his alone to make, but trying to push it on others left a sour taste with me.

I work two jobs, both magazine publications. Anybody who has ever worked for a publication knows how stressful it can be. One job is part-time in an office with 20 co-workers of varying personalities and job ethics. Some deadlines go by peacefully, but others are spotted with CDs flying across the room, magazine drafts raining down like angry snow, profanities, and the most recent incident being the 6' 5" 300+ distribution manager screaming GET OUT OF MY G*D* OFFICE AND DON'T EVER TAKE ANYTHING OUT OF MY F*IN OFFICE AGAIN at the top of his beefy lungs at another co-worker.

Deadlines are high pressure and days can be very short or last until the wee hours of the morning. When I started at that job, it used to bother me a great deal and left me very stressful. Now it doesn't, because I decided to just do my job and not soak in other people's personal issues or their poor work ethics. I weigh what is worth getting stressed over and what's not.

My other job is working for S.W.A.T. from the comfort of my home. I've only met one of the staff in person, and everybody else by phone and email. Since we're armed to the teeth... well, you know what they say about an armed society being a polite society. :lol: I also think that most of the staff being active/former law enforcement & military create naturally good teamwork. WE have our system down and respect each other. I don't have much stress with this job.

Mrshonts isn't stressful, but he is still a man. And men are from Mars.

There's only one thing that is really, really stressful and wants to make me lock myself in a closet, and thank goodness it's only once a month for around 48 hours... It's a source of embarrassment to me, so don't roll your eyes and crack jokes, because it's not funny.

Imagine dropping something on the floor and it sounds like a gunshot so loud your head pounds. Anything over MUTE hurts your ears. Everything and everybody annoys you. Your temper flares for no good reason. You're buckled over with sharp stabbing pains in your side, you want to puke, you can't sleep, and your back hurts. You eat strange food items and lots of it all day. While a Midol® may keep you from feeling like a water balloon, it doesn't do anything about everybody being annoying.

If you want to talk about "fuse blowing," talk to my mother.

And I still carry my guns and I haven't shot anybody. I will not shoot anybody unless I (or a third party) am in imminent danger of being harmed. I know the law, I have recognized my crazy hormones and have ackowledged when it's IT being the culprit, and I get over the fact that everybody is being annoying. :wink:

 

[Euclidean]

There's upset and there's angry.

Upset is getting a little riled about something at work or worked up over a really ornery kid that needs a beating.

Angry is what I get at the thought of someone trying to kill me.

I'm very, very slow to anger and I put up with little banger wannabes all day without missing a beat. If I got "mad" every time I had a good reason to, I'd have had a coronary by now easily.

 

[Bud White]

Its a good question im hopeing i will know when im to stressed to carry any more i just pretty much let everything roll off ..

Customer tries to make me mad tough walking out with your tools is a lot funner than dealing with them whold attiude changes when you walk out

So i dont take much grief from anyone

 

[rstickle]

I think everyone has a point. The trick is to know where it is and how to avoid getting there!

 

[Zundfolge]

I'm less concerned about drawing when I shouldn't because I'm over-stressed then being over-tired and find myself in a situation where I should draw but I don't react until its too late.

I'd hate to stop for gas after a long day at the office, some thug shows up and I think "oh, yeah, I've got a gun!" after I've been shot.

 

[Deke45]

And I still carry my guns and I haven't shot anybody. I will not shoot anybody unless I (or a third party) am in imminent danger of being harmed. I know the law, I have recognized my crazy hormones and have ackowledged when it's IT being the culprit, and I get over the fact that everybody is being annoying. :wink:

Very good point Betty. I don't imagine I could ever be "stressed" out enough to ever be a danger to anyone with my gun UNLESS I or my loved ones are in imminent danger for our lives....period. No amount of stress from jobs, relations, etc. will ever alter my core directive.

 

[Bumper]

My job is sometimes stressful if we are having deadline or system problems and not having alot of luck resolving them but don't believe it would have any real effect on my ability or decision to shoot. I hope I don't find out otherwise....

 

[Al Lowe]

I knew when I signed on here, I used have used something other than my real name for a screen name.

I suffer off and on from depression. I don't seek treatment for it, since under Michigan law, IF I do, I lose my permit. As long as I don't, I keep my permit.

Now, for stress. I have tons of it. Having returned from New Orleans, due to job related injury turned infection, I am in the position of looking for work again. My former employer here in Lansing has decided the company was over staffed on service techs, so going back to my old job is out.

My wife, who is disabled and suffers from many illnesses, both real and imagined, is either yelling at me, or our two boys, and then yelling at me to whip them.

I lost one job two years ago because of my political activism, and I've lost out on getting another job because of it. I turn 50 next January, I have type II diabetes, high blood pressure, my teeth are falling out faster than my hair (which isn't falling out) and I'm stuck babysitting two snakes (I hate snakes) and I've got a dog that is just about as whiney as his owner (my wife).

My oldest boy (8 years old) was diagnosed ADHD and ODD, and when his meds wear off, he's a total pain in the butt.

There are times when I'd love to put everyone out of my misery. But you know what, that will never happen. First, I'm not the type of person to fly off the handle every time I turn around.

Second, I always try to find the humour in any situation...as long as death and serious bodily injury are not involved. I even make jokes about the infection in my leg, like do you think my balance will be thrown off if they amputate my leg?

I ALWAYS carry my gun. I even take it to the bathroom in my own home. The only time it goes in the glove box in my car is when I go to pick my boys up from school, in this weather, we have to actually go inside to get them, and if I have to go to court, or city hall. Otherwise, I am NEVER unarmed. No, I'm not paranoid. I'm just VERY careful. :biggrin:

And if any of this gets back to the Ingham county gun board, someone stole my ID and password and framed me. :biggrin:

 

[rachilders]

There was a James Bond movie back in the 80's that started out with "Never say never". That applies here as well. How many times have we all heard, read or even said ourselves it could never happen... then it does.

Earlier this year, there was a shooting in Massachuesetts where a man removing a baby from his car was killed over a case of road rage. He was shot four times in front of dozens of witnesses according to police, who found the victim's 10-month-old daughter in a car seat on the floor of the vehicle, bloody but unharmed. A 60-year-old man, who was taking two medications for depression, was arrested and charged with murder in the death of the 27-year-old father. The shooter said he was driving his wife to a train station when the victims vehicle backed towards him as he attempted to park and the two exchanged heated words. The man said his wife was scared and he became angry over the encounter. After dropping her off, he returned to the scene, pointed a handgun through a window of the victim's car and fired. Authorities said the shooter had a valid handgun license and no criminal history.

This happened in a state with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation. The shooter jumped through all the hoops and had shown he was competent in the eyes of the state to have a handgun license and legally carry a weapon... which he used to shoot someone because he got mad at him. By his own admission, the shooter was taking several medications for depression and left the scene of the original incident when it first happened. It was later that he returned and shot the victim, who was removing his daughter from a car seat and had his back turned. I'm sure if you had asked the man that morning if he were capable of loosing control and killing someone due to an argument over a parking space, he would have said it would never happen!

When we own and carry a gun, we assume the obligation of knowing not only how to properly use it, but of knowing when not to use it. When you hold a gun, you hold the power of life and death. When used unwisely, as described above, the result is often deadly. Our choice to carry a firearm brings with it great responsibility. While most gun owners accept this responsibility very seriously, there are people who should never be allowed near a gun for their own good and the good of others. Also, even responsible people can change for reasons beyond their control.

Because we CAN carry a gun does't always mean we should. While I never expect to be in the position of making that decision for either myself or someone else, it could happen someday. Simply saying "It can't happen to me" is not a magic spell. To quote another well known phrase, "Sh#t Happens!". I hope that I, and every other person who carries a gun, will have the good sense to make the right call if it does.

 

[Al Lowe]

There was a James Bond movie back in the 80's that started out with "Never say never". That applies here as well. How many times have we all heard, read or even said ourselves it could never happen... then it does..

Unless I'm under the influence of some mind altering drug, I can and will say, it will never happen to me. I don't take that stuff. It never works on me the way they say it will anyway.

Off and on over the last 10 years, I've been under tremendous mental stress from various situations. There have been times when I thought I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to strike out at any thing and anyone.

But I didn't. I knew it was wrong, and I didn't. Doesn't mean I didn't want to. I just knew it was wrong and therefore, I couldn't. It's as though I have some ingrained sense of right and wrong, not just the legal sense, but the moral sense.

Does that make me perfect? Hell no. And I know people who have gone off the deep end too. Maybe it might happen to me. But I have to think for myself that as long as I say it won't happen, then it won't happen. You can think what you want to, I know for me, it won't happen. (multiple fingers and toes crossed on that one. :wink: )

 

[Al Lowe]

Earlier this year, there was a shooting in Massachuesetts where a man removing a baby from his car was killed over a case of road rage. He was shot four times in front of dozens of witnesses according to police, who found the victim's 10-month-old daughter in a car seat on the floor of the vehicle, bloody but unharmed. A 60-year-old man, who was taking two medications for depression, was arrested and charged with murder in the death of the 27-year-old father.

Are you sure that was in Mass, I thought it was some other place. Maybe I'm just remembering it wrong.

In Michigan, if that guy was being treated for mental illness, his permit would be pulled.

And I think taking drugs, even if prescribed should be treated the same as alcohol. Don't drink and drive, don't drink and carry, don't pop pills and carry. If the medication has any warnings, that should tell you right there what you can and can't do.

Yet another reason I don't seek treatment for depression. I do so much better all on my own. When I get depressed, I put on a 3 Stooges DVD, and guess what, I'm not depressed anymore.

And all Zoloft ever did was put me to sleep. Didn't get rid of my depression, just put me to sleep. Stupid drugs.

 

[P95Carry]

Many thanks for some excellent contributions - some very enlightening and frank.

More than I had expected actually - and I am grateful. :smile:

 

[dpesec]

Chris,
I think we all have been there. But, remember we can think and don't have to react. Actually, I've noticed that when I have my sidearm, I'm much more polite and considerate (not that I'm rude or borish).

Perhaps I feel a bit more selfconfident, I don't know. I do know this, when you have the power of life and death you have a greater sense of responsiblity.

 

[Al Lowe]

Chris,
I think we all have been there. But, remember we can think and don't have to react. Actually, I've noticed that when I have my sidearm, I'm much more polite and considerate (not that I'm rude or borish).

Perhaps I feel a bit more selfconfident, I don't know. I do know this, when you have the power of life and death you have a greater sense of responsiblity.

AND obligation. :biggrin:

 

[CLASS3NH]

I have a very long fuse......I think LOl

 

[havegunjoe]

I'm not so worried about stress leading to my shooting someone that shouldn't be shot, but it may lead to poor situational awareness on my part. I may not be in condition yellow, or orange because I am pre-occupied by my stress. It may keep me from being able to avoid an attack. Sometimes it is hard to focus on this aspect if you are worried about work, deadlines, your marriage, etc..

 

[Kompact9]

Chris,

A quick check of someone's stress level might be to check your driving...if it affects your driving (being more aggressive, etc.), it'll probably affect other attitudes/awareness as well. I usually find out how stressful a day I'm having on my drive home from work. I then try to adjust accordingly...I like the signature "Slow down, you'll have a more harmonious outcome" (I forget who has it).

Fred