The problem is that there isn't a quick way to deal with your situation. You can't subjugate your sense of safety to a "tool" of any kind, whether it be a dog, a gun, or what have you. Fear is an irrational state. If something scares you, you have to understand what it is that frightens you and work your way through the process of how to respond rationally to the situation. Seriously... take a self defense class that not only teaches you how to react physically, but also how to react rationally and allows you to practice it. Simply telling yourself not to be afraid, or having stranges tell you that you have nothing to be afraid of, isn't going to work. External 'confidence' will only give you false bravado, but should something happen fear will be your first instinct. Once fear takes root it is extraodinarily difficult to overcome.

We all have very real fears that we've developed after a personal experience. I know I have an extreme fear of crowds after being in a crowd so dense I was moving down the street without my feet touching the ground. This happened in 1982, about the time there were a number of trampling deaths at concerts around the US, so I know that played into the fear I still have. I have not really dealt with this fear because it doesn't keep me from doing something I want to do. Fear is really primarily a problem when you allow it to dictate your actions, especially when the fear is based on something that didn't even happen to you. If I were to give in to all of my fears, believe me, I'd never get out of bed in the morning. Driving terrifies me (because I've been in several accidents where I was not the cause of the accident), so I learned how to become a defensive driver. Eating out terrifies me (because I have a health problem that limits what I can safely eat), but I'm learning that I CAN find safe food at 'unsafe' restaurants if I just pay more attention to what and how I order. These are examples of fears I've developed because of my personal experiences. OMG, if I stopped and thought about all the possible things that could happen to me on any given day... I know people who have been raped, I know people who have been assaulted... what I see on a daily basis in the ER should terrify anyone. You just can't give in to the fear. You can have a healthy respect that bad things can happen, but you've got to stop it at that or you will never break out of fear's grasp. Like I said before, the best way to deal with it is to identify what it is that really scares you, then do what you need to do to overcome the fear from within.

MNS