I’m scared to leave my house, I don’t know what to do
Posted , 6 users are following.
I’m a 16 year old boy living in London. This all started about 2 months ago when I was coming back from school on a quite street which I’ve been using to get to and from school for the past 5 years. I was coming back from school and I noticed 2 men in tracksuits, to avoid them I turned into another road hoping to get to the high street, I noticed they were following me and my heart was beating I was staring to feel dizzy and they were saying they just want to talk but I knew what they wanted. Long story short I got mugged and I wasn’t harmed physically during the process as a woman came round the corner and noticed something wasn’t right and said she was going to call the police and the guys walked off with my things. Although it seems like such a small thing it has left a mental scar and left me scared to leave my house ever since then.
After that day I always tried to walk on main, busy roads and try to get between my destinations as quick as possible. Now that I have finished school and Summer Holiday has stared I hardly leave my house unless I really really have to. I live in London, and some people may know that London is split up into postcodes and areas where gangs are based. Gangs form according to the postcode and the different gang postcodes are cool with each other and some hate each other. I am in no way associated with any gangs or neither are any of my friends, however the problem is that wether we are associated with a gang or not, if you live in a certain area which has even the slightest association with a gang postcode I am in the risk of getting slashed with acid or stabbed. This even more causes me to live in constant fear of leaving my house. I was sitting on the bench in a park with my friend checking up on him as he is going through chemo therapy, two 15 year old boys came up to us and said the usual line ‘what ends are you from’ they were from where I lived so they was cool with us when we said where we are from but in these situations you never know what to say not to get hurt, also I was pretty sure one of them was carrying a weapon, a wrong answer in any of these situations be bad, this sounds so silly and stupid but it’s really true but it’s these young kids trying to get involved in gangs because they are either brought in by friends, older brother or because they think it is good for some reason I can not explain.
Overall I’m here trying to get help as I live in constant fear that everything time I leave my house I will be stabbed or hurt in any way. Every time I see anyone with a tracksuit on my heart starts beating rapidly and I don’t know what to do, I don’t know how to describe feeling, it’s almost like I feel distressed. I’m scared one of them is going to ask to 'talk to me’ or ‘where I’m from’ because I’m not associated with any gangs or never want to be. I want to know how to get rid of this fear that I have.
I am going to visit my grandparents in he countryside to a different county and I can’t wait, I won’t have to fear of anything when leaving the house and I can feel safe when I’m outside my house.
Even at my house I don’t feel as safe as I use to as a few weeks ago someone broke into our house and stole our car. It’s been a really stressful time for me with all the end of school GCSE exams going on in between all of this.
If anyone could offer any advice I would be very grateful.
0 likes, 5 replies
ro77360 Krystian03
Posted
Have you told your parents or any adult you feel comfortable with, say an uncle or neighbor? Its good to share your fears with others as they could offer sound advice on your problem and it is a problem.
If I were you, as you feel so vulnerable, rightly so, I would try to learn how to box or take a class in self defense. Even on you tube you could pick up some valuable tips. Maybe your dad or older brother could teach you how to spar in terms of boxing moves.
Then you wouldn't have to be quite so scared as you would have more confidence in terms of protecting yourself and belongings. Maybe learn and practice some karate moves while you are on summer vacation.
My brother ( I live in Chicago) was beaten up terribly when he was about your age.
He never told my mom but he told me. He was black and blue all over. This is what he did:
He was able to buy a basic set of barbells and he got a book from the library on how to build himself up as he was rather small. All the other boys in his gang ran away (they were in a neighbor gangs area) but he didn't run - that's why he got beat up!
Long story short - he set up his barbells and put all kinds of paper on the walls to keep track of his work outs. How many reps of these specific exercises he did, how much he lifted and how often, plus he began eating a lot of starches and carbs. He bought a pull up bar and put it in the doorway and increased his number every day.
If you can't do an exercise area at home, maybe there is a gym you could go to.
My brother gained about 25 lbs, built up his muscles, etc. and he was never beat up again.
I hope you don't think I'm a busybody for offering all this advice but this is exactly what i would tell my own son. Good luck.
Krystian03 ro77360
Posted
thank you for replying it means a lot, i did use to go boxing for a few months but I stopped as my trainer has gone pro and he hasn't got time to train me no more. I'll find another one and try to start boxing again, i did enjoy it a lot.
Contakt2 Krystian03
Posted
Hi Krystian,
I understand that getting mugged is terrifying. I think it's quit a normal reaction that you start avoiding such places. To be honest, I didn't knew you actually have gangs in London. Did you tell your parents about the stuff you're dealing with? If you got a strong connection with them, I don't see any reason to not tell them about it. I think it will bring you comfort that you're not alone in this case. If your anxiety is on such a high level on avoiding things, it may be a good option to search some professional help. You don't have to be ashamed of it. Everyone got their own problems and sometimes it's a good idea to talk to someone who really got the knowledge where you dealing with. In my case, I wish I could go back in time to search for someone to help me, but I was too naive and afraid to do so. I kept everything to myself and it made things really worse. Now I'm 20 and I'm still regretting it, but well.. You can't go back in time unfortunately.
It's a good thing that you shared your story and I hope you will read the comments below your post and think about it. Good luck to you and I hope things will get better soon!:)
Krystian03 Contakt2
Posted
thanks for the reply, i appreciate it, i have talked to my close friend about it and ill try to talk to my parents, talking to someone and putting this post out has helped me a lot.
lester90053 Krystian03
Posted
If you have to walk somewhere try to arrange a group of friends to walk with or you may have someone drive you to and from your destination. The only other alternative is to move to a better neighborhood.