hi, i've gotten to my limit of endurance and need help real bad,
i moved to an area that is considered an upscale neighborhood and actually spent money redecorating the place as suits my family.
since i felt better in this new house and neighborhood, we bought alot of personal gadgets -android phones, laptops, changed feeding habits and all, you know, started really enjoying life.
then a night, 2 months into it, my wife woke me up for me to confront a shadowy figure right in the bedroom we, us and our 2 year old kid, were asleep in. i practically roared out of the bed and went after the intruder, he ran, to my sitting room which was dark and turned round and CONFIDENTLY told me to return back to my bed room if i wanted to survive unscathed. i did, why i did that i, still today, don't know but i am glad i did.
back in the room i had only my phone, as the rest of our phones were charging in the sitting room, that was our saving grace as i used it to call the police.
by the time they got there the burglars were far gone.
in assessing our lose, we found out they had entered through my daughter's room window and good thing she hasn't started sleeping in her room yet, kidnapping for ransom is rampant here but they had taken practically everything not nailed down in the house, they had gone from room to room just picking it clean and on further assessment we discovered that they had actually cleaned out our very own bedroom we slept in, WHILE WE SLEPT.
it was then that my wife told me that what got her aware in the first instance was the feeling that she was being watched intently while she slept and then the intruder had the temerity to then put on the light for a better look, that was when she called me awake.
given that i am a very light sleeper, i felt so bad for letting in these men. i had failed in protecting my family as a man, husband and father and to think that my wife had always relied on my vigilance, i felt a failure, a coward for not going ahead to apprehend and teach, the one i chased initially, a lesson.
the police told me that it was for the best i didn't go after him because from the obvious evidence there were a least 4 of them strategically positioned with knives, from my own kitchen, just waiting to pounce on me had i come after one of them.
anyway we lost all the digital pictures of our kid in the phones and laptops, cloths, money, jewelries, almost everything but because of my lapse in vigilance something in me has refused to relax.
so for 7 months now i have not slept at night. its currently 4 a.m and i patrol my house every 30 minutes. i can't think these days because of fatigue, i am short tempered, i've lost my shape and have lost my business.
i got several job offers but can't take it because they all require me to spend sometime on the road away from my family for weeks at a time.
i need help getting over this, please.
NOTE i am in Nigeria and counselling just does not happen here, so no help from that avenue.
i moved to an area that is considered an upscale neighborhood and actually spent money redecorating the place as suits my family.
since i felt better in this new house and neighborhood, we bought alot of personal gadgets -android phones, laptops, changed feeding habits and all, you know, started really enjoying life.
then a night, 2 months into it, my wife woke me up for me to confront a shadowy figure right in the bedroom we, us and our 2 year old kid, were asleep in. i practically roared out of the bed and went after the intruder, he ran, to my sitting room which was dark and turned round and CONFIDENTLY told me to return back to my bed room if i wanted to survive unscathed. i did, why i did that i, still today, don't know but i am glad i did.
back in the room i had only my phone, as the rest of our phones were charging in the sitting room, that was our saving grace as i used it to call the police.
by the time they got there the burglars were far gone.
in assessing our lose, we found out they had entered through my daughter's room window and good thing she hasn't started sleeping in her room yet, kidnapping for ransom is rampant here but they had taken practically everything not nailed down in the house, they had gone from room to room just picking it clean and on further assessment we discovered that they had actually cleaned out our very own bedroom we slept in, WHILE WE SLEPT.
it was then that my wife told me that what got her aware in the first instance was the feeling that she was being watched intently while she slept and then the intruder had the temerity to then put on the light for a better look, that was when she called me awake.
given that i am a very light sleeper, i felt so bad for letting in these men. i had failed in protecting my family as a man, husband and father and to think that my wife had always relied on my vigilance, i felt a failure, a coward for not going ahead to apprehend and teach, the one i chased initially, a lesson.
the police told me that it was for the best i didn't go after him because from the obvious evidence there were a least 4 of them strategically positioned with knives, from my own kitchen, just waiting to pounce on me had i come after one of them.
anyway we lost all the digital pictures of our kid in the phones and laptops, cloths, money, jewelries, almost everything but because of my lapse in vigilance something in me has refused to relax.
so for 7 months now i have not slept at night. its currently 4 a.m and i patrol my house every 30 minutes. i can't think these days because of fatigue, i am short tempered, i've lost my shape and have lost my business.
i got several job offers but can't take it because they all require me to spend sometime on the road away from my family for weeks at a time.
i need help getting over this, please.
NOTE i am in Nigeria and counselling just does not happen here, so no help from that avenue.
