Batten Down The Hatches: How To Feel Safe Again After A Break In!

Home break-ins are totally and completely terrifying. Even if you weren’t home when your home was robbed, the very thought of a stranger being in your home, among your possessions is upsetting and scary. After a burglary, everyone responds differently. While some people feel anxious and even violated, others feel angry and frustrated. The fact is that each and every one of us has a different reaction to being robbed.

That being said, one emotion that most victims of home break-ins feel is fear, which leads to a feeling of being uncomfortable and feeling unsafe at home. So much so, that some families who have had their homes broken into, choose to move to somewhere new so that they can feel safe again. Of course, if you love your home and don’t want to have to leave, you need to know how to cope after a burglary.

 

Thankfully, there are a few things that you can do after a break in to make yourself and your family feel comfortable and safe at home again. So there’s no need to worry that you will never feel safe and secure again, because you will do – that’s a promise!

 

Have the locks changed

 

If the intruder entered your home via one of your doors or windows, then the chances are that you’ve lost faith in the security of that entrance. As long as the same lock or security system is in place, the truth is that you won’t feel safe. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s true. So the best thing to do is to call in a locksmith and have the locks changed so that you have total confidence in the security of your home. If the intruder did somehow manage to gain a key to one of your home’s entrances, the last thing you want is them using it again, right? So changing the locks is a must. You might be thinking, how on earth would they gain a key, but trust us on this, it happens more than you would think. As scary as that might be, it’s best to know that. Perhaps, as well as changing the locks, you could add a secondary form of protection to each entrance and exit of your home, such as door chains, for instance. It might only be a small change, but it should give you the added peace of mind that you need.

 

Up your home security

 

Talking about home security, after a break in a lot of people choose to upgrade the security in their homes. Doing so helps them to feel safer and more comfortable at home, which is why so many families make big security changes after a break in. If you are considering doing the same, then make sure to think each security option though carefully and don’t rush into investing in something without learning more about it. If you’re unsure about which security measures to put in place, talk to a security expert. One of the most popular security options tends to be installing a home security system that includes an alarm and the ability to monitor your home from wherever you are via a smartphone app. It’s these kinds of alarm systems that should give you total peace of mind, as they allow you to monitor your home via cameras and immediately alert the police if an intruder breaks in. Plus, most new alarms are wireless which means they are much more difficult for intruders to deactivate, making them more effective.

 

Get a dog

After a home break in, it’s perfectly natural to want to be able to protect yourself and your family. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that a weapon is the answer, but the problem with a weapon, whatever it may be, is that an intruder can turn it against you, making a break in situation even more dangerous. That’s why getting a dog is a much better option. Dogs – normally larger dogs known for being protectors like German Shepherds, Boxers, and Rottweilers – can offer fantastic peace of mind and protection, if well trained and child-friendly, that is. The thing about a dog is that they cannot be turned against you, so if you were to choose a dog as your protection rather than a weapon, you wouldn’t need to worry about that because a dog is loyal only to its owner.

 

Sign up for a self-defense class as a family

 

It’s natural that the whole family will feel fear after a home break-in, but you can’t give in to that fear. Instead, try to take a proactive approach and channel that fear into learning to defend yourselves as a family. By enrolling your family in a self defense class, you will all learn to defend yourself and keep yourselves safe, helping to make you feel better about what would happen should an intruder ever enter your home again. Whether you opt to learn karate, jiu-jitsu or taekwondo, it doesn’t matter, just as long as you each learn how to protect yourselves.

 

Speak to a therapist

 

Sometimes after a traumatic event, like a home break-in, speaking to a therapist can be helpful. When you or your children are worried about something or scared by something that’s already happened, speaking to an objective person about it can help. If you and your children are finding it hard to move past what happened when your home was broken into, it’s a good idea to speak to a therapist about it, as this may help you to move past the problem. Sometimes, talking things through can help you and your children to see things more clearly and be able to take the steps needed to leave the past behind.

 

It can be difficult to feel safe again after a break in – it’s something that a lot of people struggle with. However, if you want to stay in your home, you need to find ways to move past what has happened and learn to feel safe again in your home, else you will never be comfortable living there.