If You’re Grabbed Suddenly, Do This to Protect Yourself

Ok, it’s getting dark, and you’ve got that gut feeling as if someone’s after you. The first thing you might want to do is to start walking slightly faster. This trick can help you either get rid of the suspicious person behind you or... confirm your worst fear.

Now it’s official: there’s somebody dogging you. Your heart rate is insane, the heart pumps your blood as never before. Try to make turns.

Three or four right turns are enough to bring you back to your starting position. This trick will do two things: first, you’ll have a chance to disappear (especially if you know the neighborhood well). Second, you’ll once again confirm this person is after you.

Try to take those turns wisely: the moment you make one, start running to make the follower lose sight of you. Don’t do that if you’ve never been to this area: the odds aren’t in your favor. You’re more likely to get lost, or worse, get trapped in a dead end.

You might get lucky and meet someone you know in the street (like your beefy neighbor with that Rottweiler you’re kinda afraid of). If there are some people walking by, even if you’ve never seen them before, just say loudly, “HEY THERE!” — basically, pretend you’re friends. Tell them someone is following you and ask them if they can walk with you to a more public area until you find another way to get home.

A big NO is to enter your condo when you’re followed, even if a group of people are offering to help. Sounds creepy, but your street follower will probably remember where you live and might want to come back later. But let’s consider you’re NOT lucky. The street is deserted, there’s only you and that creepy person behind.

Make sure your clothes won’t let you down: if you’re wearing a hoodie, tuck the hood down the back of your jacket to hide it. If your hair is up in a ponytail or a bun, let it down as you walk. It’ll be harder for your follower to grab your entire set of hair or pull your clothes if they have nothing to hold on to.

Your clothes and shoes can actually help you escape if you were caught by a stranger. You can try to squeeze out of a jacket (hopefully you’ve got the front zip kind).

High-heeled shoes seem to have been designed for self-protection (certainly not for walking!). One of the most effective techniques to save yourself when you’re being attacked is the foot stomp. Stamp with all the strength you’ve got on top of your stalker’s foot. Sounds rough, but it will definitely draw their attention to more urgent stuff. Flat shoes will work too, but they’re obviously less effective.

You’ve gotta shake that stranger off. If you aren’t far away from the busy road you just left, you can pretend you’ve forgotten something. Pat your pockets, act like you’re looking for something. Say out loud, “Shoot, where’s my wallet?” Don’t “look for” the phone — the stranger’s gonna think you don’t have it, which makes it easier to catch you. Also, never say that you’ve lost your keys, they’ll come in handy later.

Now start walking even faster in the opposite direction. Your stalker will be less likely to pursue someone who’s running towards a busy road. Bonus: they were probably after your wallet, not you. They aren’t really that likely to dog someone who doesn’t have money.

Don’t take your phone out and start browsing or texting. The light from the screen will make it harder for your eyes to adjust in the dark and looking through your phone will slow you down. Plus, it might the phone the stranger wanted to have, so don’t let them know where you keep it.

It’s great if you’re in the area you know well. If not, try to remember as many details as possible. As you walk, find out the street name, look at the house numbers [MAIN st 1] and what shops or buildings are around. If you carry heavy books and grocery bags, be prepared to drop them as soon as you feel something’s off. Holding on to heavy items will slow you down.

Don’t stay quiet. Make a fuss as you try to leave, and scream “FIRE!” instead of “help!” People will rush to help someone who calls fire to prevent their houses from being burned down. Okay, one more scenario: 10 p.m., you’re off the gym and waiting for your bus to finally show up. Remember a couple of simple rules.

First off, try to stand near other people who are also waiting. If it turns out there are no people, stand inside an occupied building in a lighted area (at least there are people inside!) until your transport arrives. When the bus is finally there, be aware of people around you. In case someone seems suspicious to you (or they’re acting weird) make sure to let the driver know.

When it’s late in the evening, the buses are usually almost empty. Don’t go to the furthest corner of the bus — take the seat closest to the driver. If you go out of the bus and feel like some other passenger who left at the same stop is following you, go to the nearest place to ask for assistance. It might be some occupied building.

Another possible scenario is someone following you in public. If that happens, try to get to a supermarket or a coffee shop and lose yourself in the crowd. If your jacket is a different color from your shirt, then remove it. It will be harder for your stalker to identify you.

If you walk into a restaurant or a coffee shop and your follower is determined, they’ll walk in and wait for you. One thing to do is go straight to the bathroom and stay there for 5 to 10 minutes. They might get tired and leave. If you get out, and they’re still there, get in the line, order a drink, and casually let one of the staff members know that you’re being followed. They must do something and keep an eye out for you.

Get your drink and sit down. Go on your phone and let your family or friends know where you are, so they can come and pick you up or keep you company. While you wait, try these tricks:

Yawn! If the person watching you yawns too, it means they’ve been watching you — yawning is visually contagious. (Yawn) Then pretend you’re looking at your watch. If they check their watch too, then they got their eyes on you.

To trick them, get your stuff, get out of the coffee shop for 2–3 minutes and walk a little bit down the street until they lose sight of you. Then, as soon as they come back out, walk back into the coffee shop. They’ll have no reason to walk back in unless they were following you.

When someone comes to pick you up, ask the staff to guide you to the back exit of the coffee shop just to be on the safe side. Try not to walk alone at any time, always get the busy roads and be aware of your surroundings.

Ok, let’s say you’ve reached your condo with no trouble. The elevators are a usual spot for shady characters. Remember you should always check out what’s inside before you enter one. If there’s someone next to you acting suspicious, and they send shivers down your spine... just wait for the next elevator!

When you’re inside, try to stand next to the control panel. Even the nicest person may accidentally start accosting you. If you feel like the situation is getting out of control, you’ve got the panel, so you can tap the button and ask for help.

Not only people, but also dogs can follow you. Of course dogs are people’s best friends, but sometimes even they can pose a serious threat. Joggers, runners, and bikers may trigger the dog by their motion. First, always avoid direct eye contact. You need to stand a bit sideways to be a narrower target for the dog. Still, keep the animal in your peripheral sight.

You can also distract the dog’s attention with something. It’s probably a good idea to always have something on you for that. It can be a sweatshirt tied around your waist — you can pull it off quickly and throw it to distract the dog’s attention. If you go jogging, and you know there might be stray dogs, take a stuffed doggy toy with you. In case of emergency, even throwing a shoe can be a nice idea, but walking home barefoot doesn’t sound like a nice experience.

If the worst is inevitable, make sure to protect your face, throat, and chest. To protect your fingers, keep your hands in fists.

It may sound strange but the best place to be bitten is the forearm. If the dog bites you, don’t pull away, so you don’t make it worse.