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Your environment most likely hasn't changed; you have.
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I cannot CC yet (need practice/training, a carry pistol, and the class), but even becoming a regular gun owner and participating in this forum has made me similarly hyper-aware of potential threats.
The other day, I was stopped in an unexpected traffic jam in my parking garage. I was grouchy, anxious to figure out why no one was moving so that I could get to where I was going. When I pulled up a little closer to the car in front of me, I looked to the front of the jam and sawing a large man spewing expletives at a young female student. He had been pulling out of a spot against the flow of traffic, almost hitting her, and was somehow blocking her from moving on. He got out of his car and was increasingly aggressive within a 10-second span - and as I reached for my cell phone to call the police if it got worse any minute, I suddenly REALLY wished I had a CCW (and the ability to carry lawfully on campus!) in case this irrational guy pulled a weapon or otherwise got violent. It is not a very large garage.
Nothing happened - the guy made some childish crack about the woman's inexpensive car, and his girlfriend came out and started calming him down. We all moved on, but my blood was pumping as I looked him in the eye and passed him to continue through the parking garage.
My friends have always joked about my pre-gun-ownership "paranoia" (several alarms in the house, always carrying my mace and scanning the area, refuse to go to events downtown or on campus if I have to walk to and from my car alone in the dark, etc.), but I know my hyper-awareness keeps me from being an easy target. An since becoming a card-carrying member of the gun community (literally - my NRA materials came in the mail today!), I am very aware of how much better protected I would be if a threatening situation near me turns violent - if I were armed.