u/AffectionateGoal9318

I want to preface this by saying I know a lot of people will advise me to report this to the police, but I’m worried about the implications of doing so (i.e will my safety be at risk) that said, I’d value any advice and support anyone can offer.

I’ve been getting harassed and bullied via social media since 2021, mainly through Instagram but they have also found me on TikTok and Facebook. They have also created fake accounts on dating websites using my photos, I know they have done this at least once as someone that knows me in real life came across the profile.

I’ve never accepted any of their follow requests, but they continue to harass and bully me.

They haven’t only messaged me, they’ve also contacted a lot of my friends and even some of my family members (my cousins etc.) At one point, I noticed I had over 25 mutual followers with them on Instagram. This is because they’d started following loads of my friends using different fake accounts I guess to keep tabs on me if they posted anything about me.

They have made multiple fake accounts using different email addresses that were clearly created just to harass me. One of the accounts even included my name in the username. Over the years I’d say I’ve received close to 800 messages and that’s not an exaggeration.

A lot of what they send is heavily focused on my appearance and past romantic relationships. They have made so many degrading comments about my appearance such as calling me fat, ugly, telling me I need a nose job, telling my I must edit pictures (I don’t), sending screenshots of video of me my friends have posted saying I look nothing like my pictures, and even sending me edited versions of my pictures saying “here I helped you”

Each time they message me I block the account but they continue to make new ones. I’m also 95% certain I know who is behind the account, and it’s someone I’ve never met personally but what I’m not clear on is their motive for doing this to me, especially over this many years.

It’s caused me to want to stop posting online, and I’m starting to fear for my safety. I was confident and had no insecurities about my appearance but being on the receiving end of abuse regarding my appearance has made me consider getting surgery especially on my nose which I am now very self conscious about.

I feel very down about it all. Just looking for advice and support. Thank you for reading.

**edit: my line manager is the cause of my work related stress and anxiety due to an ongoing situation that they are responsible for. That is why I don’t feel comfortable contacting my line manager about this.

Got signed off due to being severely stressed and anxious relating to issues with my role at work. I’ve been completely unsupported, and getting signed off was my last resort as I wasn’t able to function properly and my daily life was affected. There is a lot more to it but I don’t want to include too much identifiable information.

I let my employer know my GP signed me off for four weeks and got an acknowledgement email. That month came to an end and I then let them know I was signed off for a further two weeks and I received no acknowledgement, then again a further two weeks but received no acknowledgement.

I plan to return to work next week with the support of reasonable adjustments as advised by my GP but the lack of contact has contributed significantly to me experiencing further difficulties with work related stress and anxiety, and I don’t know what to do. I am planning to email work again later this week and let them know that I want to come back but will need adjustments, but not hearing from them at all during my time off has made me feel panicked and uncertain.

Any thoughts/ opinions/ advice would be greatly appreciated.