Absolutely everyone is entitled to privacy. When you become an adult, you expect others to respect your boundaries as you do theirs. But sometimes, some of your more controlling relatives might try to force themselves into your life without your permission.
Internet user u/Overall-Monk-5648 turned to the ‘Raised By Narcissists’ online community for help after finding out that his own father had been tracking his car without his permission. The older man refused to stop, even when confronted about his stalking. You’ll find the full story and the internet’s advice for the man as you read on.
Everyone needs privacy. Just because someone is your parent doesn't mean that they have the right to track your every movement
Image credits: DragonImages (Not the actual photo)
A grown man asked the net for help dealing with his father, who refused to stop stalking him
Image credits: TheNimbusTwoThousand (Not the actual photo)
Image credits: Overall-Monk-5648
Stalkers can behave differently. Some might focus on monitoring you, initiating unwanted contact, giving gifts, or issuing threats
According to the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center (SPARC), if you feel that you’re in imminent danger or you fear a threat of harm, you must reach out to the authorities immediately.
SPARC explains that stalking is a pattern of behavior that is directed at a specific person, causing them emotional distress or to fear for their safety or that of others. Two or more incidents are a pattern.
Stalkers can use a variety of tactics, such as unwanted contact via phone, texts, or social media, unwanted gifts, monitoring, surveillance, and showing up or approaching a person or their family or friends. Stalkers can also damage property and issue threats.
As per SPARC, every case of stalking can be different, but stalkers can be very dangerous. They can threaten you, attack you, or worse.
“Unfortunately, there is no single psychological or behavioral profile that predicts what stalkers will or will not do. Stalkers’ behaviors can escalate from more indirect ways of making contact (like phone calls or texts) to more direct contact (like delivering gifts or showing up where you are).”
Victims react differently, too. Some might try to reason with their stalkers in the hope that being kind to them will make them stop. Others might try to ignore what’s happening to them. And some might confront their stalkers.
“While victims cannot control the stalking behavior, they should feel empowered to take steps to keep themselves, their families, and their loved ones safe,” SPARC states.
Image credits: freepik (Not the actual photo)
Some of your closest people might try to downplay the threat posed by your stalkers. It's important that you trust your gut and reach out to the authorities if you are in danger
According to the Center, your safety is paramount, and you should always trust your instincts. “Victims of stalking often feel pressured by friends or family to downplay the stalker’s behavior, but stalking poses a real threat of harm,” SPARC states.
“Call the police if you feel you are in any immediate danger. Explain why the stalker’s actions are causing you fear. Keep a record or log of each contact with the stalker. You can use this log as an example. Be sure to also document any police reports,” the center suggests.
It’s vital that you save all evidence of your stalker contacting you, including text messages, photos, emails, posts on social media, etc.
In the meantime, you may want to consider getting in touch with a local victim service provider for advice and safety planning.
Unfortunately, we were unable to reach out to the author of the viral post, as their account got banned by the moderators of the ‘Raised By Narcissists’ online community.
What are your thoughts on the entire situation, Pandas? How would you react if someone in your family stalked you like this? Let us know in the comments below.
Image credits: freepik (Not the actual photo)
The story started going viral, and the author answered some internet users' questions in the comments
Many readers were shocked by what they read. Here's their perspective
