Severe anxiety after black out and stolen property.

LegacyUser

Hey,
I'll keep this short and maybe someone can help. I was out in the city for a party over the weekend and ended getting way beyond drunk. Well past my normal limits. (Shots and shorts and the rest I normally never drink) I left the bar in a state and stumbled out on to the city centre streets. I walked a little distance in the direction of my place as per normal before getting a taxi.

It's about here that it becomes a blur. I remember walking into to other guys. I remember one of them with their arms around me in a bear hug fashion lifting me off the ground but I don't remember it being a hostile situation. More like drunken horse play. I remember them stumbling a little more and realising my iPhone wasn't in my pocket.

I remember shouting "where's my phone" and trying to run after those guys and falling on my face.

Next thing I remember is standing next to another guy explaining that someone stole my phone and him trying to help.

I walked off and must have gotten a taxi home.

The next day I reported my phone as robbed to the Garda. They said they'd request CCTV footage and get back to me.

They're I think about it the more anxious I get about it.

I'm worried I did something stupid in the blocks of memory I can't remember. Like maybe I started a fight with the two strangers (something I've never done before) orange they were trying to restrain me. The more I think about it the more endless possibilities arise.

My ribs were sore the next day so it was certainly a tight hold.

Im now worried the Garda are gonna watch the CCTV footage and see I wasn't robbed at all and more likely dropped my phone or something and I was more the drunken idiot. Or even worse, an aggressive drunken idiot (I hear aggression is a side effect of blackouts)

If my phone was robbed outta my pocket, how come they didn't take my wallet Fromm back pocket as well? Surely that's an easier target.

I have so many things in my head its next to impossible to function normally.

Do I tell the Garda a week later I now remember more and explain everything or so I do what friends are telling me and leave it alone as they reckon the Garda won't even bother checking CCTV.

I just worried the worse possible thing happened and ill be the one up on public offence order charges or something of that nature.

I haven't drank a drop since and don't plan too again .

LegacyUser

This happened to my housemate who, although he wasn't quite as drunk as you say you were, was pretty blotto. He reported it to the guards who said it's extremely common- there are gangs and individuals deliberately targeting drunk people by pretending to be friendly drunks and trying to hug their victims or pretend to be falling over etc.

Brego888

Worse case scenario the gardai check the cctv and it shows you were acting the bollix and maybe started a fight. There has been no complaint against you so you won't be charged with anything.

And you still had your phone stolen. Let the gardai follow it up. Unlikely they'll get any useful info but it's worse the effort.

Relax, I don't think you've anything to worry about.

Mikros

The whole distract the drunk with a bear hug while a 2nd person goes through your pockets is a technique that is common with professional pick pockets. Your description of the event sounds very like that happened.

The paranoid feeling you have now is probably more down to the blackout and alcohol. It's a horrible place to be in and I'm sure you've probably learned your lesson now. Try not to over think the phone thing and don't make the same mistake twice.

danslevent

You're just going to have to put it down to a bad drunken experience, and learn from it.

I think if you remember the embrace being a friendly one, then I doubt there was much foul play on your part, none that would warrant the guards holding any footage against you. You seemed to have just been taken advantage of by people who noticed what a vulnerable state you were in.

Maybe if you were that drunk then you had lost the phone out already, before you bumped into those people? Since your wallet wasn't taken.

I know this is most definitely easier said than done, but try to forget about the situation. At least nothing more sinister happened

Greenmachine

Maybe you dropped it in the taxi.

LegacyUser

Thanks guys for all the replies. It's helped a lot just reading them.
I know I didn't lose the phone in the taxi as I knew it was gone before getting in.

The thing that scares me is the periods (however small) of no memory.
I think I remember the bear hug/embrace as friendly but now I'm second guessing myself.

It's also strange that they didn't take my wallet as well.

I guess because I don't know how the encounter happened and what truly happened to my phone or how events played out it's worrying the **** out of me.

For all I know I could have threw my phone at someone and started a fight.

I'm sitting by the phone waiting for the guards to ring me. At least then I'll know. Even if ya just say they couldn't find footage.

Does anyone now how long it takes or should I drop into them again?

Hank Scorpio

Give it a day or two and decide what to do then, I know it sucks you don't have your phone anymore but the majority of what your feeling is from alcohol withdrawel, it's called the fear. I can sit here in a sober state of mind and tell you to stop worrying, you didn't shoot anyone, when the effects wear off you`ll realise the same, relax...

I doubt you`ll get your phone back, sounds like you were robbed mate. Stick to the pints next time

dj_

I have seen this happen to a guy outside a pub before. He was wasted (couldn't walk straight). A scumbag was going around asking for change for the bus. He got to the drunk guy, talked to him incoherently for a minute before giving him a "drunken hug". Seconds later the scumbag ran away with the guys phone.

I think they go for phones as they are much more valuable that what the average guy will have left in his wallet at the end of the night.

From experience, the guards wont do anything at all unless you keep hassling them about it. It took my friend 3 weeks and numerous calls before they looked at footage when her bag was stolen. Not even sure if they actually looked as they just told her they didn't see anything on it.

All you can do now is learn from what happened and move on. Do something to take your mind off it, anything at all, exercise, a hobby, video games, whatever.

LegacyUser

Thanks again for the replies guys. They'll really helped.

LegacyUser

So I got a letter from the Garda today. Seems like a standard response letter.

Re: incident blah blah and that it's under investigation and listed the name of the officer handling my case.

So should I expect a follow up letter or call to say they found nothing or wll they even bother contacting me again?