No matter how well you think you know a partner, things can go seriously pear-shaped if or when you break up. Especially if they're mentally unstable and are intent on getting you back. Or getting back at you.
A woman has shared the harrowing ordeal of how her ex-boyfriend turned full-on stalker, terrorizing her for months. She beefed up her home security, took some self-defence courses, bought a weapon, and even got a 100-pound American bulldog to keep her safe. In the end, it was the dog that saved her life when the lunatic ex broke into her home one night. But some family members now believe it's dangerous, and she should get rid of it.
1 in 7 American women has been stalked by an intimate partner
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
One woman's dog saved her life when an ex broke into her home, but now the animal is being labeled as "dangerous"
Image credits: A. C. / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Magdaline John / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: daniel-007 / freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: throwra_dogstalker
Netizens had mixed reactions, with some taking the woman's side and others agreeing with the SIL
She later provided an update on the situation and thanked people for their advice
Image credits: Oleg Ivanov / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: gzorgz / freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Sven Mieke / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: throwra_dogstalker
Women who’ve been stalked are 40 percent more likely to have a heart attack
Stalking is defined as persistent, unwanted, intrusive harassment in person or online. And it happens more often than you might think, sometimes with fatal consequences.
Anyone can be stalked, but the stats show that it's more common for women to be victims. One 2020 study, published in the Violence Against Women journal, found that around 15 percent of American women have been (or will be) stalked at least once in their lifetime.
It's a scary statistic, and perhaps even scarier is that your stalker can be someone you know well. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, roughly 1 in 7 women has been stalked by an intimate partner. The figure is lower for men, at about 1 in 18.
Another worrying study published in 2022 in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence revealed that victims tend to see their ex-partners as less dangerous than strangers. And this is far from the truth.
“Being targeted by a stalker is one of the scariest and most unsettling feelings. It’s normal to try and rationalize or convince yourself it isn’t happening,” says New York-based psychotherapist, Monica Amorosi.
Apart from the obvious emotional and mental health impact, a new study has found that women who’ve been stalked are 40 percent more likely to have a heart attack or stroke later in life. While those who’ve taken out a restraining order see these cardiac risks increase to 70 percent.
“Because stalking is often perceived as a form of violence that does not involve physical contact, it may seem less serious, but our findings suggest these experiences can have long-term health impacts and should not be minimized,” warned Audrey R. Murchland, an epidemiology associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and co-author of the study.
It goes without saying that being stalked and living in constant fear is extremely stressful.
Kim Smolderen, a professor of medicine and co-director of the vascular medicine outcomes program at the Yale School of Medicine, explains that "chronic activation of the stress system may cause wear and tear on our cardiovascular and metabolic systems."
This, she says, makes us more susceptible to disease, such as heart disease.
"Good boy!": netizens showered the woman and her dog with best wishes and words of support
