Major anxiety about burgularys

[ehley]

Hello people this is my first post

I have for a number of years, suffered from anxiety about many things, such as social phobia, or weight problems, or relationships etc

I have always had the comfort of coming home putting on headphones, watching a nice movie, and temporarily blanking out the evil cruel world in the comfort of my own home

To me, home is a sanctuary away from the big bad world.

However, i live in leeds.. which although isnt that rough a place, it has a higher than average burgulary rate for the uk.
The area i moved in, is not one of the bad areas.
However, a few weeks ago, the shop up the road about two blocks from us had an armed robbery.

Since i found out about that, i then spent the next day or so googling robberys in leeds... and like if you google practically anything, there were several results..
i know i should not have done it, but since then, i have spent the last two weeks, worried sick about being broken in, every time i hear the wind rattle nearby, i am convinced its somebody trying to break in.

We have lived here for two years and never had a problem, this is a relatively safe area, but after the incident at the shop up the road, i just have this mental paranoid anxiety in my brain that is gnawing away at it, and making my life miserable as hell at the moment.

Moving isnt an option as i work here, and this is a relatively safe part of leeds too

I would really appreciate getting some kind of reply to this, because i have never dealt with an anxiety before, that can not be solved by just curling into bed and forgetting about the world... but this is stopping me from even doing that :(

[hiswaywardgirl]

If it makes you feel better, most burglars will try to make sure you're NOT home. Someone who wants to steal your TV doesn't want you to get in their way, and probably isn't desperate enough to go to jail for murder. So if you leave the lights on, open the curtains, and give a sense that your home is occupied, it's far less likely to be robbed. That's why a lot of people install lights that automatically turn on and off at certain times in their vacation homes when they're away.

[Ponder]

Yes, sign of the times. Your not the only one worried about such things. Now, having burgled a few houses in my time - I can tell you a few things such types look for. When it comes to those festive times of the year, the lights being on really means nothing - it's expected. I worked in pairs - good old lookout. One will often go knock on the door to determine if someone is actually home or not! Check for pets - ussually dogs - cats no big deal.

Do you have a dog? If your worried about burglars - well at least the random ones - DOGS are a real pain in the ass and we would often just skip those houses! Much better than any cardboard cut out with lights that go on or off. In fact - if no one answers the door with auto lights, then that's a good sign to a free reign of the place. If not one answers the front, then the back door is checked. That is a knock with a quick check of the power meter. Service Men can walk on and off a property without anyone getting suspicious.

Come to think of it, if there is anything you want to get automated, try looking for an automated DOG BARK with a good emulation setup!

The best light deterrent is a sensor flood light the lights up the whole area of both entrances and windowed areas. These can be overcome simply by ripping them off their mounts - be sure to mount them good (most people do not) You could install cameras, but most random burglars care less about such measures - they just want to get in, get something to sell and get out -

The ones that will enter your house while you are in it, are called cat burglars - usually done at night - even the criminals get robbed and we have been bitten more than once with a missing purse, from right under our noses.

I could go on - but to what avail - Everyone thinks the area they live in is a good area, truth is, there is no such thing. The better the area, the more attractive the takings are and better the quality of thieves.

We pretty much leave our house open all the time, you'd be surprised how many people live like that. That is until we go away, but we rarely go away. What do we do when we do - we have someone look after our dog.

DOG! best protection you can get - security I mean. Not always - but most of the time YEA!

Wishing you well - try not to stress about it too much. What will happen will happen. Less is Best! More is just a drag.