topic Anxiety after home invasion: advice appreciated in Anxiety

Anxiety after home invasion: advice appreciated

missute09 — Sat, 26 Jul 2014 11:18:00 GMT

Would appreciate some advice from others. I

short history:- I think you could say I have always suffered from anxiety to some extent and it was amplified after a guy broke into my apartment around 8yrs ago and whilst he never touched me he sat outside my bedroom door telling me the things he was going to do to me . I was stuck there for just over an hour and managed to get my mobile and get help. The police came and told me I was lucky as he was a repeat sex offender (he spent years in jail and when I received his release letter it got worse for a while). Since then I have not been able to be in a house on my own at night, I need a light on at night, I look over my shoulder all the time if home alone during the day. My house is surrounded with cameras etc.

now:- I had a baby 3 yrs ago and

my anxiety seems to have for worse. I am constantly scared of dying. The shooting down of planes, hijacking of planes, and constant "end of the world" thoughts are ruining my life.

I have no trouble falling to sleep but I sleep for around an hour and then I am awake usually from 11pm until around 4am usually due to a nightmare about the above. I could sleep no worries at all during the day and these negative thoughts are not as prominent during the day.

I work full time in child protection which I know doesn't help!

I try to avoid the news and websites so I don't read or hear anything but this is impossible' and not fixing the problem.

any advice?

Anxiety after home invasion: advice appreciated

Chloekat84 — Sun, 27 Jul 2014 03:36:33 GMT

Hello missute09 and welcome to the site. Everyone here is friendly and willing to help. Firstly I think u have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder but u need to to to you local GP to be be properly diagnosed. I really hope things get better for you. I know wht its like to worry 24/7 as i have anxiety and depression/ I think u may have both as well. If you cant find a doctor to specialise in mental health u can find one online on this site on the get support tab and find a specialist. Well thats it for me just hope u feel better soon. U sound like a really nince person and its sad this had to happen to u. Take care x

Anxiety after home invasion: advice appreciated

AGrace — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 06:57:45 GMT

Hi missute09,

Apologies, I have only just seen your post now. I'm glad that chloekat has welcomed you to the forums. Thanks for having the bravery to post your story here.

I can imagine an instance like the one you experienced would have been very traumatising, and no doubt still is. Our minds tend not to let us forget negative experiences because it's their way of preparing us for potential threats. It's no wonder this has caused your anxiety to peak, and I'm in agreeance with chloekat that you may be suffering from some post traumatic stress.

When this event occurred were you offered or did you partake in any form of therapy? I know there are some services available for victims of crime. Perhaps you weren't ready to face this at the time. It would definitely be worthwhile pursuing some treatment now, especially given that the lack of sleep must be impacting your daily life. Chloe's right a simple visit to a GP will enable you to be referred to a professional for some advice. You may even want to consider some sleeping medication in the short term.

It's often the case that we are plagued by our troubles more at night time. Usually because that's when our thoughts have a chance to take over. No doubt since having your daughter your sleep was possibly impacted as well. Depression and anxiety commonly set in when we aren't getting enough sleep.

What do you find yourself doing when you wake up from sleep? It's not usually recommended to try and fall back to sleep straight away, but rather get up and do something mundane like reading until you feel the onset of tiredness again and then try once more.

For someone with Anxiety, Depression, or PTS it's common that negative images, stories, or particular sounds can cause more stress and panic than normal. So I think it wise what you're doing by avoiding the major headlines.

I hope that we will hear back from you.

AGrace

Anxiety after home invasion: advice appreciated

missute09 — Wed, 30 Jul 2014 11:37:54 GMT

Hi all,

thank you for your replies and thoughtful messages.

No back then I never received any counselling or support, I was in my very early twenties and thought I had it all under control!!

if my anxiety provoking thoughts of an evening (I.e now) and when I wake up during the night are only in relation to the world ending not the break in etc is this something that could be being driven by a PTSD etc?

when I wake up I will try and make myself go back to sleep. If I fail I then play monotonous brain numbing games on my phone then my eyes get tired and itchy and I go to sleep eventually.

I have sleeping tablets now that I am taking, only a low dose. I have noticed I am still waking up during the night but I am going back to sleep then waking again and so on. The negative thoughts do not appear to be there when I wake, however I am also making a conscious effort to direct my thoughts positively.

I will aim to seek support from a psychologist in the near future.

Thanks again for the support

Anxiety after home invasion: advice appreciated

leigh1972 — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 02:25:31 GMT

I had an incident 3 years ago where an ice-filled man who had fled the scene of a crime appeared at my back door and windows, covered in blood, ranting and aggressive, trying to break into the house. The police were called and came quickly but even 10 minutes seems like a long time when something such as this happens. I thought I was ok too but a change in my living arrangements and relationship status has provoked the memory and I now suffer night anxiety, hypervigilance, and catastrophic thoughts. I have sought counselling through Victims Services NSW and am about to embark on my first session. Initially I was in denial and told myself I was being silly but the lack of sleep, fatigue from constant adrenaline spikes and high anxiety began to cause physical symptoms that I could no longer ignore. It is definitely worth getting help.

Anxiety after home invasion: advice appreciated

Croix — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 03:04:26 GMT

Dear Leigh~

Welcome to the Forum, and thank you for posting.

It is amazing the far reaching effects of an incident like yours. I can well imaging the anxiety, hypervigilance, and catastrophic thoughts you describe.

Obviously one cannot keep going like that and you are very sensible in seeking help via V.S. NSW. I hope they are able to make life easier for you.

I would imaging you have taken all sensible precautions already. Three things that might be less than obvious are a phone to hand with speed-dial, making friends with the neighbors and having a pet dog.

The last option has lots of other benefits though not everyone is in a position to own one.

Please come back and say how you got on

Croix

Anxiety after home invasion: advice appreciated

Nickname_DD6417D0-76AB-4E1B-933D-A63B17A69B3B — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 22:38:19 GMT

Other people have mentioned Victim services. Set up in all states to my knowledge. You can access this service at any time after the 'event'. We were home invaded in 2014 and I received excellent and speedy counselling. We also were reimbursed for damage and set up security in our home (crimsafe, lights, cameras).

My husband has recently applied for counselling, after telling me, he has spoken to no other person about the night, apart from myself. No one! I was shocked. He had passed himself over while my injuries healed and I received all the attention. He had minor injuries which have now turned to debilitating arthritis and will more likely be prescribed with PTSD. Make that appointment, apply for assistance. There are no time limits. I am also back in counselling via Medicare for anxiety associated with this time.