Female victim reassurance ( 3or4 years later)
Hey, so about 3 years ago I got approached online by a random account months after sending pictures to someone from an app. I’m a girl, and the message instantly made my stomach drop. They sent a picture of me and said “I know all about you.”
I freaked the hell out because I didn’t even know who it was. I had spoken to different people online before, so I couldn’t place the name or face at all, which honestly made it even scarier.
So I blocked the account straight away.(if they can’t talk to you they have no leverage, as scary as it might seem)
I privated all my socials, deleted and remade accounts, and spent weeks terrified that someone was watching me.
I barely slept for 2 weeks. I shook constantly lying in bed, couldn’t eat properly, cried, journaled a lot, and hugged my teddies more than ever. I felt ashamed, stupid, paranoid, all of it.
But here’s the thing I wish someone had told me at the time.
It fades.
The fear slowly stops controlling your body. You stop checking every notification in panic. You breathe properly again. You laugh again. Your life becomes yours again.
For me, I threw a lot of that fear and anger into the gym. I think mentally I needed to feel in control of my body again instead of feeling small because of someone else’s behaviour. And weirdly, it helped.
Finding this forum also helped me realise I wasn’t alone. Then eventually opening up to a trusted friend made me feel like I could finally breathe again. The shame loses power once it’s not trapped inside your own head.
So if you’re going through this right now, please stay.
Please don’t let fear convince you your life is ruined. These people thrive on panic and shame, but your future is so much bigger than this moment.
I hasn’t had any weird messages related to it since and it’s been 3 years, I’ve just learnt to be really aware of people online nowadays <3
You’ve got this girl (or boy) 🤍