How Psychology Can Help Us In A Robbery
It is not easy to decide what to do in the face of a criminal ‘s attack . This is usually a situation that causes surprise, and we don’t know exactly how to act. This is exactly one of the tools used by miscreants to commit their crimes: the surprise factor. They act quickly and don’t usually give you time to analyze the situation and choose the best way to act.
They also tend to act aggressively from the first moment. Not only do they attack, but they also attack with violent words and threats about their integrity. They know this is the best way there is to destroy your emotional resources if you try to react to the attack.
What is the best way to react? Unless you’re very good at martial arts or some other self-defense technique, it ‘s best for you to understand that, in the face of an assault, you can’t do much. Even less if it is an armed attack, as is often the case in cases of robbery in the street.
Three principles that will make this experience less traumatic
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Keep Calm
Whatever the circumstance, you will have more opportunity to get around it if you remain calm. Remember that the person who is assaulting you has brought a huge adrenaline rush into play, so your tranquility will help to get the situation under control. That way you won’t despair and you won’t get to the point of committing stupidity. Your main objective should be to conserve your life and prevent any physical harm from being caused to you. No matter how offensive or abusive the offender is, you don’t have to react. If you do, you may expose yourself to a situation that you may no longer be able to work around.
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Obey the bad guy’s orders
If he puts you in the grip of a weapon, there’s nothing that can be done. Obey one by one your orders, without questioning. Give him your belongings without offering any resistance. Do not speak with him. Adopt the attitude of an “invisible human being”: no reactions, no talking, almost no presence. Don’t do anything he hasn’t asked you to do, and by your attitude imply that you are willing to cooperate. This will decrease the bandit’s aggressiveness.
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sharpen your attention
Try to capture as much information as possible. But be careful! If you look the delinquent in the eye, he will probably be irritated with you. So, carefully, try to capture traces of your face, hands, etc. Keep an eye on the tone of his voice, especially if he has a particular accent, try to identify where he might come from and some other particulars. Look at his outfit and get a general idea of him: height, age, ethnicity, etc. All this data will be very valuable when you go to the police station to register an incident.
after the robbery
Once the robbery is over, seek help immediately. Communicate with someone you trust and ask them to accompany you to the nearest police station to report what happened. It is important that you do this immediately, as the memory of the robbery is fresh in your memory and this will help to explain better and in more detail how it all happened.
Depending on your personality and the conditions of the assault, you may need psychological help. This type of event is a major cause of trauma, which can make us afraid to walk on the streets again, activating unconscious fears that can cause anguish, sleep problems, irritability, among others.
Take your time to forget about this uncomfortable experience. Don’t blame yourself or grieve for what happened. You will be able to buy all the objects you lost, however expensive they are. The most important thing is that you got out alive and could avoid further damage. You can be sure that you acted intelligently and successfully managed to get around this difficult situation.
Image credits: Luis Perez
