Psychopaths and Self-Protection with Mike Mandel

Most of us would not consider ourselves to be an easy target for a predator. But we may be communicating signs that we're unaware of. Today's guest is Mike Mandel. Mike's career has covered many different fields from stage performer, trainer, psycho-therapist, martial arts instructor, writer, and corporate speaker. Mike is a renowned hypnotist with 18 nominations and 6 awards for excellence in entertainment and is also considered an expert in the unique martial art of British Jiu Jitsu. He has trained both law enforcement and security personnel and boasts a diverse client list that includes Microsoft, Scotia Bank, and the Department of Defense. He has been featured on both British and Australian television, profiled in numerous publications including Martial Arts Illustrated, I Spy Magazine, and Toronto Star. Show Notes: [1:07] - Mike shares his background as a hypnotist and training in British Jiu Jitsu. He is a forensic hypnotist that works on murder cases and has spoken at colleges and universities. [2:03] - When he was younger, Mike admits that he was far too trusting. He went into business with a business partner who turned out to be a psychopath. [3:09] - Before the issues with his business partner were revealed, Mike had an experience on a plane with him getting suddenly angry about his handwriting. Now, as a graphologist, Mike knows now that his writing was a clue. [4:51] - After dealing with overwhelming stress, Mike reached out to a friend and former colleague who is a forensic psychiatrist who said that he was taken in by a highly functioning psychopath. [5:46] - This experience led Mike to studying psychopathy and he now does lectures on the topic, specifically signs in handwriting. [6:30] - The terms psychopath and sociopath are used synonymously. [7:01] - Mike shares that there are many psychopaths who are immensely successful and some are in the armed forces. Generally speaking, they can rise to the top with ease because they don't have the same fears as an average person. [7:52] - Mike describes psychopaths as grandiose and good at luring people into their presentation. [8:23] - There was a study done on psychopaths in the prison system where they were shown the same video of random people walking on the street and asked who they would target. They all chose the same person. [9:18] - Psychopaths are very good at hiding their true selves and are extremely patient in waiting for their opportunity. [10:27] - Psychopaths are so good at what they do. Mike shares that he has known detectives and psychiatrists who have been fooled. [11:30] - Mike doesn't think that psychopathy can be "fixed" as their brains simply do not process things the same way. [13:02] - Almost every scam that Chris has heard of has some sort of emotional connection. [14:19] - We need close friends in our lives, but the scary thing for Mike was that the psychopath that tricked Mike was a close friend. [15:45] - The first tip Mike has is to be aware of your surroundings at all times. This awareness is also important in your online surroundings. [17:18] - Mike shares a story about what he calls his "spider sense."  [18:02] - Mike describes a color system he has that illustrates a way to condition yourself in being cautious and aware of your surroundings. [20:31] - The Witching Hour is a window of time between 11:00pm and 3:00am that your chances of being in a violent encounter are higher than other times of the day and night. [22:50] - We don't want to be paranoid, because if our spider senses are set too high then real problems are indistinguishable from the background. [25:11] - Mike describes self defense versus self protection. [27:40] - While in public, Mike is always assessing situations and never putting himself into a position that someone could surprise him. [29:14] - You want to make it that it is an unconscious response. [30:07] - Mike describes the different proximities and how safety comes through distance. [32:17] - When asked about the prisoner study where psychopaths would pick the same people to target, Mike shares that one of the things they picked up on was an asymmetrical walk.  [33:51] - Mike describes how our level of confidence is apparent in our body language and many people seem to have a target on them because of, what Mike calls, a "victim signal." [34:45] - Avoid everything and every place if it doesn't feel right. [35:52] - Chris and Mike make the connection between real-life and online targeting. [37:01] - They use the psychological trick of appealing to scarcity and urgency. We are all vulnerable to these things even if we know about them. [40:20] - Mike shares a story about an experience with his online business being harassed by a client. [41:12] - The way you disconnect from someone is to ignore and disconnect them. If you tell them over and over again that you're not going to communicate, you are in fact communicating with them. [42:44] - Get toxic people out of your life. When you see signs of someone in your life that you feel are "off," you need to be prepared to fire people out of your life. [43:47] - Mike explains how the traits in the writing of the psychopath that was in his life stood out to him and shares how specific features look. [45:08] - The "Felon's Claw" is a trait of handwriting that indicates that someone feels guilty. [47:37] - Mike's final piece of advice is that you can't change a psychopath and you will likely come across one in your life. The revenge that we have as healthy, functional people is to not obsess over them. Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. 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