Our homes are the place where we feel most comfortable, safe and secure. A home burglary can upend those feelings which are essential to our peace of mind. Home burglaries are “considered as attacks to both one’s personhood and one’s safety and privacy and many render victims at risk of psychological distress.”1 While items taken by a thief can be replaced, the psychological scars can linger.
The aftermath of a burglary is nothing new to a locksmith.
Locksmiths witness the effects of burglaries and offer services to safeguard a home or business.
The Reality Sets In
It begins with the realization that your home has been burglarized. There is a feeling of disbelief as you encounter a broken door lock, a muddy footprint on the door, broken glass or any number of indications that all is not right with your home.
If you entered the home without quite realizing that you’d been burglarized, once your brain establishes that truth, panic can set in and you may experience a rush of adrenaline caused by your body’s natural fight or flight response.
For many this first realization feels a bit unreal. Is the burglar still lurking somewhere in the home? Are we in danger? Should we stay in the home or are we safer waiting outside? What items were taken? Why did they target our home?
You wonder how they got in. Was it a faulty door lock? A compromised door? The unsecured door wall?
The wait for the police to arrive can make minutes seem like hours, all the while you are still in fear for your safety and that of your family. Once the police arrive and enter the home to make sure the burglar has left, you wait with tension, hoping that there is no confrontation between the burglar and the police.
When they clear your home, they start the process of asking what was taken. For many people, the shock of being victimized makes responding to the officers’ inquiries difficult. Then the police leave and the fear sets in again. Will the intruder return? How do I secure my home temporarily? What if they didn’t look in all the possible hiding places?
Calling a locksmith to reinforce security is a good place to start.
A British psychologist and professor whose recent work has focused on post-traumatic stress among burglary victims, Dr. Man Cheung Chung, found that sleeplessness, depression, anxiety and other symptoms are often experienced by burglary victims.2 Home is not just a physical space; it’s also a psychological space according to Dr. Chung. In his view, while we fill our homes with material things, this ‘sacred space’ is also filled with meaning infused through private family rituals such as eating, praying, and loving.
Most importantly, home is where we set the rules and are in control. When our home is invaded it shatters our sense of control and makes us feel not only insecure, but inadequate.3 One victim of a home burglary stated,
“It took weeks before I stopped having bad dreams or stopped eyeing strangers on the street near my house. The most valuable thing the burglars took was my sense of security.”4 Shock, victimization, and defilement are common reactions to home burglaries, with many comparing the burglary….5
Sentimental items taken can be more devastating psychologically than more expensive, but easily replaceable, items. Jewelry passed down from one generation to the next or a particular item given to you by a deceased parent may be gone forever.
Turn to a Trusted Locksmith Near You
A professional locksmith is trained to assess a home’s security vulnerabilities and work with a homeowner to make sure the home is as safe as possible. This can be accomplished with adequate door locks, security cameras, securing of valuables in a safe which can’t be removed from the home, and other home invasion deterrents. If your home has been burglarized, a professional locksmith can work with you to install items that can restore your sense of safety and security.
Action Locksmith works hard to keep homeowners and business owners in Michigan have peace of mind. Our expertise spans all facets of locksmithing backed by more than three decades of experience. Feel safe and in control of your home and your belongings with the most trusted residential locksmith services in the Tri-County area. Call and Save today!
__________________
1 Psychological Distress Among Domestic Burglary Victims: A Systematic Review of Possible Risk and Protective Factors by Maarten Kunst and Dante Hoek, 2/27/2023
Link: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15248380231155525
2, 3, 4 The Post Traumatic Stress of Home Burglary, 1/10/2015
Link: https://theweek.com/articles/444536/posttraumatic-stress-home-burglary
5 How Does Your House Look Through the Eyes of a Burglar? by Frank T. McAndrew, PhD, 1/22/2020
Link: https://www.familyhandyman.com/list/things-to-do-if-your-home-gets-broken-into