Needing Some Advice!!! - Stinnett,TX

I so know how you feel. I've had my car broken into and my HOME! Knowing someone was in your home, touching your stuff, well, it's quite unnerving! It will pass.......just do what you can to feel safer.......Don't let one person run your life.....which is what they are doing right now.
If you feel better, get an alarm system for your cars and your home. We bought camera's and put them up.......Luckily, the second time someone broke into our home, he left finger prints and he was caught. Not that I felt any safer.
I make sure we always have a big dog in the house as well......it's part of my need to feel protected, even tho I know he can't really "save" us..........try not to dwell on it if you can and remember, everything happens for a reason, even if we don't know what that reason is at the time.
Hang in there and look at what you have in your life, not what you don't have or what was taken from you.
Good luck and take care. If this doesn't get better in the next 30 days, be sure to seek some counseling, you need to make your kids feel safe, and they know when Mommy is upset for whatever reason.
My prayers are with you.

OK, the first thing I think you need to do is reason through this. They did not come into your house. They did nothing to threaten you, and they probably weren't armed. Not saying what they did is right, but I want to point out that perhaps you and your family really are protected, and I'm not just talking about security systems here. I really believe that God watches over us and perhaps you need to say a prayer or two and ask Him to help you feel safe. Second, you say you had your keys, your purse, in your words 'everything' in there. I am not here to criticize. I have done the same thing on many occasions, whether I forgot or just decided to leave them out there. In any case, this was more a crime of opportunity.

Every night we pray for our home to be safe. I can tell you that I really do feel at ease, even when my husband is not home, and we live in low-income housing, so you know there are some rough people about. We get along with most, but you never know who will be wandering through. I can tell you from much experience, God listens and protects.

I am so sorry that this happened!!! What you are feeling is NORMAL!!!!!

I am going to suggest that you talk to your doctor about this and ask for a short term assistance for right now (if you are willing to take medication) or a referral for some counseling or a mix of both. Next I am going to suggest that you call the police and see if they can send an officer out who can give you a security assessment of your home and some ideas on how to keep your family safe. Having the knowledge may help you out right now.

I am so sorry! Having your personal property stolen is a horrible violation. {{{{{HUGS}}}}}

A friend of mine's apartment was burglarized while she was asleep! tehe burglar came in through an open 2nd story window. Cut the screen and everything. She woke up and thought it was her roommate's boyfriend in her room! The guy grabbed her purse and ran like hell. They police never caught the guy, but they did recover most of the contents of her purse and the purse itself in a window well a few blocks over. Her ID, $$ and keys were still missing though. Despite the fact that the apartment managment changed all the locks, she slept with a chair jammed under the front doornob and a golf club by her side for months afterwards.

Have you done all you can do to prevent this from happening again? Maybe the car dealer can change the locks on your other car? Did you change the locks on your house, notify all your banks and credit card companies? If you think there is more you can do, then you should talk to your husband and do it. Install security cameras, alarm systems, etc.

Is there someone else you could perhaps talk to about this? Maybe the police department can give you a referral for a counselor. I think you're still in shock over what happened - it's normal to not feel safe after something like this.

I wish you the best.

B., it is very intrusive to have someone come on to your property and take your belongings. I lived in an apartment and someone broke in and took everything I owned...after that I was not comfortable walking into that apartment alone. I did the very same thing you are doing. In time you will feel better. But please shut your windows (unless on the second floor) and be safe.

We had our garage broken into one Saturday night, while we all slept. The scary part was the door into our house from the garage was unlocked and the thief could have easily entered our home and been standing 2 ft from the teenagers' room. YIKES!

We went out a bought a dog. A big, loud barking, scary looking dog! He has helped us all feel safe again...its been great! There is no possible way anyone will be entering our house without us knowing it!

I feel you woman! I am sorry this has happened to you.

Completely normal response! We had our tv stolen out of our home last summer. I'd heard people talk about feeling violated, but there is no other word for it. They were in my house - what gives them the right?! Of course they were never caught, but we now have an alarm system on the house. We also researched our rights as homeowners. My husband is a former Marine, so he is perfectly capable of capping someone's a** if he needs to! LOL! Seriously, though, it's not funny when something like this happens. It made me very paranoid. Our barn is aobut 300 yards from the house, so I always lock the house when I go up there to feed the horses when the baby is napping. Once, I came out of the barn to see a pickup leaving my driveway. It backed in, because it was heading out front first. To me, that meant he was casing the place and had backed up to load the new tv into the truck. I freaked out and was on the phone to my husband as I ran back. Turns out it was the meter/gas worker. I felt irrational in my fears, but I was told it was all normal and understandable. It may take awhile for the fears to start to dwindle. They may never go away, but for me, it got better. The security system definitely helped! We also have dogs that just happened to be in the garage the day we were robbed. However, if anyone comes to the house, they definitely let us know if we are here. Most people who steal and rob want to get in and out without any trouble, so they don't want to see you anymore than you want to see them. I know that doesn't help much, but anything you can tell yourself over and over will hopefully make the bad thoughts go away.

I have heard it is VERY NORMAL to feel like this~! You have been violated. I can get myself worked up like this when I just THINK about something like this happening to me.

I'm sorry that I don't have any advice on how to get over your feeling like this but I just wanted you to know it is okay.