The Emotional Impact of Burglaries and How To Help Prevent Them

Cases of reported burglaries have been on the rise. Every day, homes are being broken into. Most of the time, it occurs during the night. You may even be burgled as you are sleeping upstairs only to realize what happened in the morning when you wake up. The most popular times for burglaries are during the festive season mostly Christmas and New Years. This is because the burglars know that they will find new stuff in the house or tucked neatly under the Christmas tree.They usually go for valuable yet portable things like expensive jewelry, cameras, TVs and video games. They hit jackpot when they find your car keys because they drive off in it. Not only do burglaries result in loss of valuable material and sentimental things, it may also cause emotional trauma to the adults and kids affected.

Here are some of the emotional impacts caused by incidents of burglary and how to prevent them.

1. Constant fear and anxiety

You become afraid of the dark. You become anxious when left alone at night. The slightest noises make you jumpy. Your mind keeps replaying the burglary, even if you were not there. One way to prevent fear and anxiety is by seeking a counselor to talk to. Talking gets all those thoughts of the incident ever happening again out of your mind.

2. Seeing things that are not there

When the lights are off, you may start seeing shadows. Some people even call the police believing that someone is at their window yet it is a false alarm. You prevent this by sleeping with the lights on. Burglars cannot break into a house that has lights on. This realization will give you peace of mind and help you sleep.

3. Lack of sleep

Children are severely affected by burglaries. If left unresolved, they could carry the trauma well into their adulthood. Kids may not often talk about what happened and what they feel about it, but you can tell that they are still affected from their behavior. They may not want to go to bed early, waking up in the middle of the night, they may also ask to sleep in your bed. For kids, they will fall behind at school due to the lack of concentration due to lack of sleep. You can prevent insomnia by co-sleeping with the kids and not switching off the lights when they sleep in their bedroom.

4. Guilt

You may blame yourself that you could have done something earlier to prevent the burglary. You wish you would have fitted locks on your windows months before the incident or fixed the back door that you always procrastinate in doing. The only way to prevent the guilt is to do something about it now. Fix everything that is broken or not working. Also install lights on the front and back door that have sensors to alert you when someone is trying to get in the house.

If you’ve been a victim, you have to accept what happened and try moving on. Talk to a psychiatrist or a friend. Move from that house in a safer neighborhood, if you can. This will help you and your kids move on and prevent depression and post traumatic stress disorder.