PTSD following a burglary

Having your house burgled or robbed is a traumatic event. In 2021/22, about 983 000 households in South Africa experienced housebreaking/burglary. This represents?5.4 %?of households in South Africa; irrespective of whether you were at home for the burglary, or return home to find it broken into, you might be at risk of developing symptoms of PTSD. It’s estimated that 1 in 5 people who experience a traumatic event go on to develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The impact of a burglary is therefore very real. As well as the financial cost of replacing anything stolen or repairing any damage, having your house burgled has real emotional consequences and can drastically change your sense of feeling safe and secure at home. Feeling unsafe, anxious, helpless, and fearful will have repercussive effects on your body: you are likely to feel heightened anxiety and paranoia, anger, shock, and increased stress. This may result in disrupted sleeping patterns – particularly in children whose homes have been burgled.

Feeling this way and having these reactions is nothing to be ashamed of. It can happen to anyone. The key is to seek help and early intervention.

For the past month, this is what I have had to endure in the Republic of South Africa. It becomes burdensome when I am not dealing with this ordeal alone, but with my old and weary mother, panic-stricken and terrified sister, and my unknowing niece...