Theory of Mind (ToM) in self defense refers to the capacity to understand and attribute mental states to yourself and to others with the purpose of predicting violent behavior and defending against it. Any deficits in understanding can potentially expose you to the risk of interpersonal violence. The purpose of this series on Theory of Mind in Self Defense (TMSD) is to help you better understand the functional psychology of self defense.
Interpersonal violence has always been a part of the human experience. It is perpetrated by a deviant subset of the population and it occurs with disproportionate frequency causing immeasurable pain and suffering (1). It is a dark topic and one that most people have a natural aversion to because it forces one to confront the realities of interpersonal violence and recognize one’s own vulnerabilities to it. This can be disconcerting evoking feelings of discomfort and anxiety but ultimately if you want to be able to prevent violence from happening to you then you must be of willing mind to recognize it, embrace aspects of it, and when necessary even wield it.
In developing a working ToM in Self Defense it is natural to focus one’s attention onto the source of the threat framing the question, “who is the bad guy?” But this misses the point. Rather, the correct question should be, “who am I?” Your locus of control is within you and so it is of practical value to first look inward examining your own beliefs, assumptions and biases on the topic. This is the context of todays article in which I will address the question of “who you are” exploring what it means to develop a defensive persona.
To read the full article click on the link here or follow the file below to download the full pdf document.
FEB
2022