Dear Diary,
Imagine this... You have a big secret that if others knew, would make them especially your friends have a very negative view of you if they found out. Then, there is this shady person who knows of this secret and now attempts to blackmail you for their own twisted joy of seeing you suffer. So, how do you rid yourself of the poser this shady person has over you without having people find out your secret?
What did I mention this topic today? Funny enough, someone was trying to blackmail me recently. He said that he has proof that there is a guy staying on-off in my house. What they didn't realise or didn't do the background check, I have a young adult son that sometimes look like a brother to me rather than a son (I told you Alan, you should make sure you shave your beard more often). Okay, joke aside, even though I have nothing to hide or lose, it still worries me. Why do these people willing to do this extra length just to hurt others? What should we do to deal with blackmail?
There are some tips that I managed to extract from googles and friends:
- Whatever you do, don't take the situation into your own hands. Harming others or yourself is never the answer, and never will be. Be aware that the job of punishing and stopping crimes is what police are for. Stay calm and don't make any rash decisions. You are not alone and you can get out of this.
- Talk to someone. Tell to someone that really close and certainly can trust. Talking to somebody regularly while all of this trauma is happening or writing down everything can help get out all of those mixed up, strong feelings.
- Once you have cleared your head, think about what you are going to do. Get suggestion from someone you can trust on some things you should do. Do things to make sure you are calm and maintain composure or poise while this is happening. Don't just let go and panic - try to maintain your daily schedule and stay calm.
- Make a plan. Make sure that the plan can't go wrong. If it does happen go wrong, it won't be anything that you will regret.
- Now put your plan into action. Call the police and go ahead with it. Make sure there is no danger involved, and nothing against the law. It may be tempting to punch that shady person once they were apprehended. Your plan should involve authorities of some kind, unless the information the blackmailer is threatening to reveal could land you in jail.
Blackmail is a horrible thing especially emotionally blackmail. It doesn't matter whether it is true or false or whether they really have a concrete proof or just baseless fact. It make you feel scared, threatened, vulnerable and in danger. It stresses you out and your health can really go crazy. No matter how small you think blackmail is, it is a totally unacceptable thing and needs to be dealt with. I really hope the tips above can at least help you in dealing this issue.
Signed off for now
LOLA
