Overcoming fear of thieves

July 09, 2018

You've found your dream house, but unfortunately it's all alone in a meadow and the neighbors are more than 500 meters away. Yes, these kinds of homes exist in the Netherlands. In that case it can still start to itch, the fear of thieves. Because who do you call if your house is broken into? Or if your house has already been broken into once, then this can damage your sense of security considerably. Yet you also need to get on with your life and be able to go away for a weekend with peace of mind, how do you do that

Finding out cause for fear of thieves

Of course, it's perfectly normal to fear thieves, but most people don't think much about it. The door has a lock, and if it's locked it should be safe. Before you leave you also check that all the windows are shut and that's that.

On the contrary, do you have an urge to screw everything tightly shut, prefer to have someone in your home when you're not there, and actually think about thieves on a daily basis? Then you may suffer from a problem that keeps you chained to your home. Terribly unfortunate, because the world is much bigger than your house and garden or balcony.

Of course, you may also have been the victim of a break-in in the past—something that is a very clear cause and which also shows that this fear is not an irrational one. It’s not like a fear of spiders.

Taking precautions

In this case, you have probably already taken precautions, such as an alarm system and perhaps even cameras to deter or detect any thieves. In fact, this should be enough to ensure that you are no longer startled by every little noise your home makes.

You may have even taken a self-defense course.

Now what if you still startle at every noise in your home?

Removing the cause of fear of thieves

There can be all kinds of causes that cause the fear of thieves, which is why there are also all kinds of solutions to reduce the fear of thieves.

Trauma Treatment

If you’ve been the victim of a break-in before, it may have been a traumatic experience. Sometimes, installing an alarm system isn’t enough to let you sleep soundly or feel comfortable going away for a weekend—let alone an entire vacation!

In that case, it’s important to process this trauma. The best way to process trauma is with the help of a professional. Trauma can be processed in several ways, namely through neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and cognitive behavioral therapy, and hypnosis can play a supportive role in this process.

With NLP, the traumatic event can be linked to a more neutral event so that you don't think back to the moment of burglary at every sound and thereby continue to relive the trauma when you really just want to sleep. This is done with a technique called anchoring.

In addition, cognitive behavioral therapy can also help, and the results of cognitive behavioral therapy are enhanced when the therapy is given in conjunction with hypnosis.

Inform yourself about the likelihood of a break-in

Have you never had your home broken into but are still afraid of it? Then it is wise to educate yourself about burglaries in your community. With that knowledge, you can suffer much less from fear of burglary.

For example, if you’ve lived in a city for years and then move to the countryside, you might still feel a greater fear of break-ins than your neighbor, even though that’s completely unnecessary.

There are even people in rural areas who don't even lock their car, simply because the car is safe if you just walk in and out of a store. For someone from the city, that is hard to imagine, and you can get quite upset if your partner (who does come from the countryside) just walks away without locking the car.

It's also always a nice surprise when you find out after a weekend away that the back door wasn't locked all this time and everything in your home is just there as you left it. In the countryside, the chances of burglaries are also a lot lower than in the city.

At CBS, you can check the probability of a burglary by municipality ( 1). On average, the chance of a residential burglary is about half a percent. That means that 1 in 200 people will be burglarized. An incredibly low probability, therefore, the probability of this being a violent burglary is even lower.

In the process, 80% of burglaries are committed by a casual thief. This is also why burglars often break into their own neighborhood. They know the neighborhood, they know where they can walk and encounter as few people as possible and they know who is home when. In doing so, there must also be an obvious opportunity to break in, such as when you leave your window open.

So keep windows and doors closed when you go out the door and you really hardly have to worry about a break-in.

Don't watch that scary movie

From the study Why do you fear the bogeyman? An embodied predictive coding model of perceptual inference from 2014 shows that watching horror movies and thrillers for up to a day afterward, or a night afterward, can still cause you to think that if you hear a noise in your home that you are bothered by burglars( 2).

Are you an avid horror lover? Do you watch a horror or thriller at least every other day? Then it might be a good idea to alternate those for a comedy film or a drama series.

Fear of violence by burglars

Sometimes it is actually not even the fear of a burglary, but rather the fear of a violent burglary. In that case, it makes sense to take self-defense classes so you can feel safer knowing you can do something to scare the burglar away.

In addition, it is wise to seek information about burglaries and violent burglaries. In fact, generally burglars do not want to be caught at all. If you turn on the lamp and start making noise, this can be enough action for a burglar to run away.

Fear of poverty

Do you keep a lot of cash or expensive jewelry at home just to be on the safe side because you’re afraid of poverty? If so, your fear of a burglary might actually be a fear of poverty. The fear of poverty is incredibly relative, because poverty doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone.

That’s why hypnosis can help you overcome this fear. To do this, your beliefs about the value of money are examined, as well as how serious your perception of poverty actually is. Then, using various hypnosis techniques, you’ll develop new beliefs that will make you less afraid of burglars and perhaps even lead you to entrust your money to the bank.

Key assets

An important heirloom, such as that gold necklace with opals from your grandmother, can also be a reason why the fear of burglars suddenly flares up. Again, the fear can be easily resolved by educating yourself about burglary. As mentioned, 80% of burglars are occasional burglars. They enter through a door or window that is open and then grab items they can easily access.

If you have important possessions, it is best to keep them in a safe or some other place where burglars have difficulty getting to them. Then the chances of an occasional burglar entering your home will be considerably reduced.

Removing fearful beliefs

Do you still have a lot of fear of burglars and does the additional information about burglaries in the Netherlands not directly help you reduce your fear to acceptable levels making you especially vigilant about closing windows and doors? Then hypnosis can help in several ways.

One technique that is very simple is repeating hypnotic suggestions to strengthen beliefs that reduce anxiety. Repeating these suggestions daily will make it easier for you to go out for the day with confidence.

These may include suggestions such as:

"In my community, burglaries are rare."

"I have my windows and doors closed and locked, I can relax."

"Burglars don't want to be seen and will leave if I make noise."

"I have important things stored safely."

These suggestions are just examples; you may need other suggestions that better fit your beliefs about thieves. In that case, it is best to go to a hypnotist to find these out and get personalized suggestions that way. In doing so, the hypnotist can also help you with other techniques to get rid of an unreasonably high fear of thieves.

If you’d like to learn more about hypnosis and other mental techniques, check out our courses and the calendar of upcoming events.

Or sign up for the free online masterclass on hypnosis.

Also pin this handy infographic:

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