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Accidentally dialled emergency number. Panicking.


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Help, what do I do? I couldn't find my phone and it was in my bed and when I picked it up it was calling someone and I thought I could hear a male voice talking, but it didn't sound English to me and I panicked and hung up. There were the numbers 17 on my screen and when I looked up my call records it said it was an emergency call that lasted 30 seconds! What do I do? Will the police turn up at the door?

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Thank you for replying.

Because they might think there is an emergency! I know they sometimes ignore 'pocket dials', but what if they don't?

Sorry, I know this isn't strictly speaking OCD, but my OCD impairs my thinking and I need someone who isn't panicking and can be rational about it.

Edited by Lost_in_a_Dark_Maze
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To be fair, if you dialled by accident, they probably considered to be a dial by accident. It wasn't like they could hear a struggle at the other end of the phone. And to be honest with you, IF they did, you wouldn't be in any trouble for it. You would just need to explain that you may have dialled them accidentally. That being said, if your phone and if it is a mobile phone isn't ex-directory, if there was any cause for concern on their part, they'd most likely call back anyway. So, if they haven't, I think you are just fine! :)

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So what if they showed up at the door with 10 police cars, several fire trucks, an ambulance and a search dog named Alfie? Stuff happens! You did nothing wrong. You accidentally dialed a number. That's it. Accident. Welcome to life.

One point: get your phone out of your bed. Preferably out of your bedroom altogether. Disrupts sleeping patterns. Bad stuff. End of sermon.

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Thank you both for your replies. I'm sorry I couldn't reply last night, I ran my phone battery out Googling! (I now realise that was a bad idea.)

The good news is that nothing happened, which is a relief! Although I did panic when I heard a police siren nearby once.

:lol: PolarBear, you made me laugh, thanks. I feel it would matter if they had sent someone though, especially because it would have taken up valuable resources and might have meant someone with a real emergency didn't get help. I didn't know if I should ring somewhere to explain or if that would make it worse.

I didn't think of them trying to phone back, you are right that's probably what they would have done if they did anything.

Do you think my reaction was OCD? I know it was an accident, but I still feel guilty. I also feel guilty for not confessing to my mum what had happened, but I knew she would panic too.

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Your reaction was over the top and absolutely anxiety induced. Googling, ruminating, thinking you would cause others harm because you wasted the time of emergency personnel, were all compulsions. You did all this mental work, twisting yourself up in knots... for what? What good did any of it do?

Learn from this. There was an alternative response available to you: do nothing.

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