Let’s face it: mothers-in-law are the punchline of endless jokes, and often for a good reason. Whether they’re sticking their nose in where it doesn’t belong, stomping on boundaries, or not-so-subtly hinting that their child could’ve done better, they can be a bit much.
One woman recently turned to an online community to reveal how she’d felt stalked and harassed by endless missed calls from a mystery number. After months of this, her husband asked her what the number was, and that’s when things got weird with his mom.
Spam calls are a sad reality of having a phone, and the callers are always finding new ways to barge into your life, like using burner numbers
Image credits: SkelDry / Freepik (not the actual photo)
One woman felt “stalked” and “harassed” after months of endless missed calls from a number she didn’t recognize
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The number didn’t come up marked as spam, but when she tried to call or text back, there was never an answer
Image credits: teksomolika / Freepik (not the actual photo)
After her husband messaged her asking for the number, it turned out the mystery caller had been her mother-in-law all along
Image credits: TheRealHousewifeofCheshire
Her husband just brushed it off, but the annoyed woman turned to an online community to ask if she was being unreasonable in finding the situation pretty weird
For months, the original poster (OP) had been getting mysterious missed calls from an unknown mobile number. Each time, she’d call it back, Google it, or text it, demanding to know who was calling, but she never got an answer. Since she worked in a building with no signal, she couldn’t pick up when the calls came in, which only frustrated her more.
She even tried calling back after work, but the mystery caller never picked up. At her wits’ end, OP assumed it was spam, or worse, someone harassing her because of her job, which frequently involved disciplining people. The calls went on for months, leaving her anxious and suspicious about who could possibly be behind them.
Then, during a medical appointment day at home, the mystery number called again, this time while she was in the shower. Later, her husband asked for the number and, when she sent it, he dropped the bombshell: the unknown caller was his mother. OP was speechless.
It turned out her mother-in-law had a new number but never told her. For months, she’d been unknowingly calling her, making her feel stalked. Hurt and confused, OP couldn’t understand why her mother-in-law had never mentioned it. Her husband brushed it off, but she’s still angry and turned to netizens to ask if she’s overreacting.
Image credits: Alexey Demidov / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Let’s be honest, spam calls are one of the worst things about owning a phone. They’re horribly intrusive, entirely unnecessary, and, despite regulation and caller ID technology, seemingly unstoppable. According to CPR CallBlocker, the uncertainty about the intentions behind each incoming call can trigger stress due to our mind's tendency to anticipate negative scenarios.
The only thing worse than spam, as OP’s experience proves, is getting hounded by a mystery caller for months on end with no response to your texts. Did you know, though, that people can actually experience serious anxiety about taking and making calls?
In her article for VeryWellMind, Arlin Cuncic writes that phone call anxiety, or telephobia, is an intense fear of making or receiving phone calls, typified by avoidance and physical symptoms like a racing heart or shortness of breath. According to Cuncic, it’s a subtype of social anxiety, often stemming from a fear of judgment or a lack of unspoken cues in phone conversations.
Helen Russell from BBC Science Focus suggests a few ways to cope with telephobia, including making micro-calls, preparing very brief notes before a call, taking perspective (we overestimate how much we’re ever actually messing things up on the phone), and even faking a smile - yes, it actually works.
At least OP’s unknown number mystery was solved before she actually lost her mind over it. And thankfully, it didn’t turn out to be an ex-employee with a grudge against her, or worse, a scammer.
What do you think? Is OP overreacting, or does her mother-in-law’s spam calling and refusal to answer texts deserve a thorough explanation? Share your thoughts in the comments!
In the comments, readers seemed to agree that calling the mystery calls “stalking” was going a bit too far
