Help! I suffer panic attacks since thief tried a break-in

Thump! The sound reverberated throughout the house, jarring me awake. It was on Wednesday this week, at the ungodly hour of 3.45 am. I sat up in bed, listening hard, my breathing laboured. And then it came again, thump!

This time round, it wasn’t so loud, but it was enough to get my heart racing. I sprang out of bed and switched on the lights, and then rushed to the window, hoping that whoever it was hadn’t managed to break into the house.

This house has a habit of groaning. The first few times I heard the groaning, late at night, I was assured that it was just the wooden beams supporting the celling expanding and contracting. Nothing to be alarmed about because, apparently, wood tends to do that. Doesn’t it?

Anyway, with time, I have learnt to distinguish between these annoying groans and other sounds in the night. I was, therefore, sure the sounds I had heard were totally unrelated, and so I continued peeping out of the window in trepidation, though I wasn’t sure what I was fearfully expecting to see.

And then I saw him dash out from his hiding place and sprint towards the live fence that separates our home and that of a neighbour, who is still constructing his house and has therefore not moved in. He picked up a ladder, placed it against the fence, and scrambled up, and then jumped to the other side.

TRAUMATISING EXPERIENCE

By then, we were all awake, and I was screaming my heart out, screaming like I had never done before. Within a few seconds, the air was filled with screaming women, neighbours echoing my alarm. One of our neighbours had also switched on a siren, which was howling impressively.

We would later learn that the thief had managed to pry out three window panes on one of the doors, hoping to open the door and get in. The thud I had heard must have been the thief’s flashlight accidentally falling, and which now lay on the kitchen floor, still glowing. I told God a silent thank you for big mercies like this, shuddering to imagine what could have happened had the robber managed to get in.

This was the second attempted robbery I have been through. The first was at the place I lived in earlier, and it wasn’t as scary because it happened on a Sunday afternoon, when no one was home.

At the beginning of this year, neighbours down the road were robbed of a gas cylinder and a couple of electronic items, though they only got to learn their house had been broken into when they woke up in the morning. A window pane had been expertly taken down and the door opened. When I heard about the incident, I was mildly alarmed, no doubt because I had not been at the heart of the experience.

After making some sympathetic noises, I promptly forgot about the incident. Now that it had happened to me, I see how horrified my neighbours must have been, though our two incidents are nothing compared to other horrifying robbery and attempted robbery cases we keep hearing and reading about.

Many home owners have lost their lives in the hands of these misfits, while others and their families have gone through unspeakable experiences in their own homes, experiences that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

I have not been sleeping properly for the last few days, and nowadays, my heart races madly, threatening to pop out of my chest even when the ceiling beams make those strange noises, which are supposed to be normal. If I go on like this, I fear for my health. Someone who should know tells me that I should learn to control my breathing when these panic attacks jolt me in the middle of the night, that it will help slow down the beating of my heart.

Problem is, she didn’t tell me how to go about controlling my breathing — maybe I should try yoga, which is now quite fashionable in the country. Perhaps it will tame these annoying panic attacks.

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FEEDBACK

Your article on Nairobi is superb. But I can’t but disagree with your remarks on Kenyan drivers. In my two months experience in Nairobi I found them very patient, law abiding, genuinely concerned about other road users and helpful to each other.

Saseendran

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I always read your article every Sunday before  I go to church. This time, you really wrote a master piece column.  What a dream; Nairobi without traffic jams. How I wish dreams would come true.                          

Patrick

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Did you really have this dream? Let’s hope it points to a good, cleaner city. Seriously though, much of the issues you highlighted need simple fixing, unfortunately, city fathers seem to be in deep slumber, hopefully dreaming too.                                                 

Maina

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I really like the dream you had. But as much as we say dreams are valid I think there should be a rider to some of these dreams.

Riungu

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There was a time I thought traffic jams were a phenomenon confined to developing countries. Later I learnt there are similar scenarios in advanced countries, the difference being that they manage their traffic better with stricter laws that rid impunity.

Mwangi 

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Very witty! Congrats are in order. It’s not yet uhuru in this messy city of ours! And yes, I know that nasty manhole too well. And another one not far away at the junction of Moi and Kenyatta avenues as you cross to go to Tom Mboya street.                

Njiraini

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That was a sweet dream. How I wish (Nairobi Governor) Evans Kidero read it — and will make changes now that Obama is coming.                       

Kikwa

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I loved last Sunday’s article. It was like a novel and just when it gets to the best part, it turns it was only just a dream.

Anne

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Your dream was really wishful. I saw a bit of that Nairobi in the 1970s, when I was on transit to school. It is depressing, but I don’t think we will get to the Nirvana you dreamt of. Where in Africa will you find it?

Bor

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May that cruel dream become become a reality in Jesus name. Amen.                              

Clement